Guardian Angel
by Thedragoness821
Summary: My take on what would have happened if Sophia would have lived, I got this idea while watching my season 2 DVD's: On the run in the woods alone, Sophia is saved by a mysterious woman. Eventual Daryl/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**The walking dead: The Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 1: The rescue.**

_Summary: My take on what would have happened if Sophia would have lived, I got this idea after watching my season 2 DVD's. as always, please R&R ^_^._

Sophia waited for what seemed like forever, well… forever in a child's prospective that is. The sun was getting low, & soon it would be impossible to follow it back to the road, the young girl had a decision to make, she decided to make a break for it.

She crept back the way she had come, terrified & trembling, jumping at every little noise she heard, careful to keep the sun on her left shoulder & keep the creek in sight like she was told. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her waist, another cupped around her mouth, preventing a scream. She tried to fight, but whoever… or whatever was too strong.

"Stop struggling & keep quiet!" A gruff female voice hissed into her ear as together, they backed into a hollowed out tree trunk just as a couple more walkers made their slow, grunting appearance. They had been traveling the same path she has been using to get back to the highway, but in the opposite direction. If Sophia had continued on her present course, she would have run straight into their hungry arms.

Once it was safe, the woman released her & they emerged. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you, what's your name? I'm Charlotte." The woman drawled in a North Georgian accent. Sophia turned to look at her savior & had to bite back a scream.

This woman was like no one she had ever seen before; her straight, black hair was cropped into a self-done spiky style that gave her a punkish look & it had the remnants of blonde hair color at the tips. But the most disconcerting thing about her was the patch over her right eye, & the thick, obvious scar that snaked its way from under the patch's fabric halfway down her cheek below & ascended into her hairline above.

"Sophia." The young girl said in a barely audible voice, trying not to stare at the patch or scar but she found that she couldn't help it, although the woman seemed to notice, she said nothing. "C-can you take me back to my group?" Sophia asked in a small voice, Charlotte smiled warmly. "I'd be happy to, but we can't til morning, for now we'll have to find a safe place to stay, ok? The girl looked disappointed but wordlessly followed the strange woman.

They came upon an old house, it had clearly seen better days & the smell inside left more to be desired… but it was shelter. "Here, babe." Charlotte said as she handed the girl a small tin of sardines. "I know it's probably not your momma's cooking, but it has a lot of protein." The girl nodded & managed to force the small, salty fish down the hatch, Charlotte smiled as she handed the girl a bottle of water to wash it down with. "In the morning we'll go to the road & see if we can wait for your group, ok?"

"Stay close now, little girl. We don't want you getting separated again & things can happen quickly out here, walkers can come out quick at you." Charlotte said, Sophia took her words to heart & was practically glued to her back the whole way, flinching at every woodland sound they heard until finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the road came into view… the problem is that it was crawling with walkers. Sophia made a small frightened sound in her throat.

"Baby, we can't stay here, it's too dangerous, your people coming here every day, leaving food with their scent on it has brought em' for miles." Sophia nodded & they turned to come face to face with a walker, growling it reached for them, Sophia screamed & hid behind Charlotte, who dispatched the walker with one her twin machetes. "Come on… MOVE!" Charlotte said as she grabbed the girls arm painfully & yanked her into a run.

They sped through the woods, dodging walkers as they went, Charlotte was surprised at how fast the little girl was in a pinch, luckily the ones on the road hadn't noticed them yet so if they could give these the slip, they should be ok. After the coast was clear behind them, Charlotte doubled back onto the road, toward the end of the traffic snarl.

"What are you doing!" Sophia said, her voice trembling with fear. "We're gonna find a working car so we can get the f…uh… heck outta here." She said as she scoured each car until she found a small Ford Ranger that looked like she could hot wire it. "Do me a favor & keep a look out, while I hot wire this mother…" she trailed off, remembering again, last minute that she had to watch her language in front of the kid. She wasn't used to having any company, let alone a kid's; she spent most of her time talking to herself.

She ripped the cover off under the steering column, cut the wires with her machete & went to work, after a few tries, the truck turned over, its' engine roaring in the silence of the dead world. In the distance, she could see a herd of walkers heading toward them. "Come on, kid, lets make tracks." She said, Sophia jumped in & Charlotte jammed the gas down, in a squeal of rubber, they were gone.

"Where are we going?" Sophia asked. "Somewhere they're not, girl." She said. "But… my mom…" she trailed off. "I know, darling, I'm gonna try not to go very far, but I have to get far enough away from those things where we can stay safe for a while, ok?" She said as she turned onto a county road & made another sharp turn at the first mailbox she caught sight of. "Stay in the car while I check if everything is ok & do not leave no matter what! Lock the doors." She instructed the girl, her machete in one hand for walkers, her .22 Smith & Wesson in the other in case she ran into something worse… living people.

She entered the house as quietly as she could albeit the creaking floor, which sounded deafening in the silence, she continued on, grimacing against the sound the floor made under her boots as she crept along against the wall. She checked every room & found it devoid of walkers or humans, thank god. So she walked out to get Sophia.

"This is… nice." Sophia said as she looked around the small house. "There's a tub in the back bathroom, how about I boil you some water on the wood stove & you can take a bath?" Charlotte said as she filled a large tub she had found under the sink in the bathroom with water & fired up the stove. "All right, girl. All ready." "Can you stay with me?" Sophia said. "I don't think that's right, girl, I'll be right in the next room if you need me, ok?" Sophia reluctantly nodded but asked for the door to be left open.

"Better?" Charlotte asked as Sophia emerged, dressed in a change of clothes Charlotte had found in the bedroom's drawers, it seemed as though the owners of the cabin just upped & left, taking only what they could grab quickly when everything started. "I'm going to take one too, you hang out on the couch, I won't be long."

Charlotte stood, looking at her wet, towel-clad reflection in the tarnished bathroom mirror, she hated looking at her reflection now but at the same time she couldn't take her eyes off herself. She traced the line of the thick scar that traveled like a road through the crater of blank skin where her eye used to be & brought her hand down on the side of the sink angrily.

Suddenly, she was aware of a presence at the door threshold, her left eye darted sideward & her peripheral vision registered Sophia's shocked, frightened expression. Charlotte hurriedly turn her back & reached for her patch, once it was secured she turned to the small girl. "Your mom never taught ya how to knock?" She said irritably, the girl fiddled with the tail of her shirt & averted her eyes to the floor. "Those… things are out there." She whispered.

Charlotte immediately pulled her into the bathroom behind her & peaked around the door frame, sure enough, a few walkers were milling around the deck, sniffing & looking around, Charlotte put her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, the forest had gone deathly quiet, she could hear more walkers outside on the other side of the bathroom, luckily it had no windows. A herd must've happened upon them… & they were surrounded.

_Author's note: As always, I want to know what you think ^_^._


	2. Chapter 2: Chasing Shadows

**The walking dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 2: Chasing Shadows**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create.**

"We're never getting outta here!" Sophia tearfully whispered, her tiny voice muffled against Charlotte's shoulder. "Hey, no negativity here, eh? They'll move on, as long as we stay really quiet… they'll move on." She said, suddenly, the sound of a distant gunshot echoed through the woods, it was faint, but she was sure it was a gunshot. With a collective grown, the walkers turned toward the possible source of the sound & slowly began to move toward it.

"Well… whoever did that was a dumbass but lucky for us, huh?" Charlotte said as she reached for her clothes & hurriedly got dressed. "Where are we going?" Sophia said. "I don't know, baby. I don't know. Do you know where your group was headed before all this happened?"

"I don't know, our camp was attacked, so we had to leave, we were on our way to a place called Fort… Fort… something with a 'B'." "Fort Benning?" Charlotte interjected, Sophia brightened & nodded enthusiastically. "We'll find a place with a road map, & then we'll see about finding a way around that traffic jam." Charlotte said.

Rick & Lori stood as Hershel emerged from the back room, looking positively exhausted. "Your boy came through the surgery fine, only time will tell though, but he's a strong boy. I have a good feeling that he'll make a full recovery." He said, Rick tearfully embraced him.

Outside, the others waited anxiously for any news, Rick's face said it all when he emerged, wearing a relieved grin. The group embraced in a many-armed hug.

Daryl cautiously approached the abandoned house, his crossbow at the ready just in case. He entered & looked around, in the closet he found a blanket & pillow, in the trash was an empty can of sardines & an empty bottle of water. He crept to the bathroom & could tell it had been used, by more than one person; if it was Sophia, she was traveling with someone else. His stomach clenched, he hoped it was a good person.

"Anything?" Rick asked when they all had gotten back. "Found a house, someone stayed there, not sure if it was Sophia or not, but if it was, she's got company." "You mean, someone might've picked her up?" Glenn asked. "It explains the reason her tracks suddenly veered off the path back at the road." Rick said. "But… you said there was only one set of tracks." Lori said. "They could have carried her." Daryl interjected.

"We say nothing about this to Carol. The last thing she needs to know right now is that her daughter might have been abducted by someone on top of everything else." Rick said. "We don't know if they were a bad person or not, as a mother I would feel better thinking that someone might be looking after my child." Lori said, Rick looked sharply at her. "We say nothing to Carol… not until we are sure one way or the other, there's no way to know whoever was at the cabin was even Sophia, I don't want to give her false hope."

"What do you think this shit of going out & looking for her is, Rick?" We're cops, you know good & well what the search for a lost child becomes after three days & its been over a week!" Shane interjected. "Well… I haven't seen any proof that makes me think otherwise!" Rick rounded, Glenn & T Dog got between them. "Come on, guys, this isn't helping anything. Carl is going to be ok, we should be celebrating, not fighting." Dale said.

"Where are we going?" "Fort Benning, my dear, that's where you said your group was headed." "How long?" Sophia asked. "A couple of days, give or take, depending on what we run into along the way. This ain't actually a road trip world anymore." Charlotte replied, her gaze from the road. "How'd you lose your eye?" "In a fight." Charlotte replied, her tone short & final, to an adult that would have signaled an end to the subject, but a kid didn't take notice of subtle things like that.

"What kind of fight?" Sophia pressed. "A fight for my life, let's just leave it at that." She said, glancing at her sharply, now that was a cue that even a kid couldn't ignore & they fell into silence again & didn't speak until Charlotte pulled the truck over at a gas station to fuel up. With no electricity, Charlotte pried open the underground tanks & stuck a long hose into one of them, she sucked on the hose until gas began pouring out & stuck it into the tank intake. "You watch the tank, when it overflows, pull the hose out & put it back in the bed, I'll be back in a few." Charlotte said.

Charlotte crept into the small ice house, machetes at the ready, her side arm's holster unclipped just in case. There was one lone walker in the small building, the guy who used to work there, she dispatched him quickly & began loading up on the few nonperishable supplies she could find along with a few hygiene items.

Charlotte could see the relief in Sophia's bright blue eyes through the window when she emerged from the ice house, her bag full of supplies. "This should get us to Fort Benning. We're over half way there, we'd be there by now if it weren't for the fact that we have to avoid the main highway." She said as she took a minute to study her map before tossing it onto the passenger side of the dash & pulling back onto the road.

"Walker!" Andrea said as she jumped from her chair atop the RV & grabbed her rifle. "Andrea, stand down, Hershel wants to deal with walkers, you know that." Rick said as he, T Dog & Glenn started running towards the staggering figure, their weapons drawn in case they couldn't subdue the walker. "I have the shot!" Andrea said excitedly, as she peered through her scope. "Andrea, Rick said to stand down, I think you should listen to him. "Bite me, Dale." She said, her finger tightening on the trigger.

As the three men neared the figure, they realized it was Daryl. "Oh my god!" Rick said as he started towards him, suddenly a shot rang out & Daryl crumpled to the ground in a heap. "NO!" Rick bellowed, atop the RV, Andrea's look of triumph turned to horror as she leapt off the RV's roof & ran towards the men as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Is he…?" "He's still alive, help me." Rick said as he & T Dog half carried half dragged Daryl towards the house, careful to conceal the necklace of ears he had had around his neck. "Oh my god! Is he ok!" Andrea said tearful as she joined them. "He's still alive, we need to get him to Hershel though.

"If someone would have bothered to asked me first, I could have told you that mare'd throw you if she got spooked, there's a reason why we call her nervous Nellie." Hershel said as he finished stitching Daryl's side up. "She hasn't come back yet, either." Maggie said. "Fucking horse, if it was smart it'd left the country." Daryl said venomously. "Take it way for a few weeks & you should be as good as new, son." Hershel said, choosing to ignore Daryl's statement.

Later that evening, Carol had brought him some supper & had thanked him warmly for all he was doing, not that he wasn't grateful, but he couldn't wait to be back in his tent, alone, away from everyone else, no more fussing over him like he was a little kid or something. Hell he didn't even know why he was trying so hard to find a little girl that most probably was dead, but he couldn't quit… not until he knew for sure one way or the other.


	3. Chapter 3: Fort Benning

**The walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 3: Fort Benning**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create.**

"Oh… fuck!" Charlotte said, the graveness of the situation causing her to forget there was a child present, as they neared Fort Benning, they ran into a huge traffic snarl, they couldn't even get close to the base… unless it was on foot & she couldn't see beyond the base's stone retaining wall, no telling if it was safe or not.

"Sophia, I don't think that your group's here." Charlotte said, through her binoculars, she could see smoke billowing from behind the wall, she had a terrible feeling Fort Benning was lost, her gaze shifted to the road, walkers could be seen slowly making their way around the wrecked vehicles as the putrid smell of decaying, burnt flesh & napalm reached her nostrils. "I'm sorry baby, but we have to get out of here. This place is a bust, there's no one here." She said as she slid back into the truck & put it in reverse, just as she did, two large, black SUV's blocked her.

"Stay in the car & duck down, Sophia." Charlotte hissed as she grabbed her rifle from the back seat. "Can I help you?" she said, she was unable to hide her horrified expression from Sophia as she recognized these men. "Well, look who it is, son of a bitch, I thought you were dead!" One of them said, his voice heavy with a New England accent. "I wish I could say that you look good… but I can't." "No thanks to you, you son of a bitch." Charlotte replied, her rifle unwavering.

"Hey come on, you still don't blame me for that, do you? It's not like you gave me a choice." One of them said, unannounced to them, a small herd of walkers was closing in on them from behind, she smirked. "I wish I could stay for a chat boys, but it seems you already have dinner plans." She said as with lightning reflexes, she shot the kneecaps out on both men.

"Stay down!" Charlotte said as she jammed the truck into reverse & pushed the first SUV out of the way through a barrage of gunfire from the other half of their group. Sophia cowered on the floorboard of the passenger side, sobbing as bullets pinged off the truck's frame. Suddenly, they stopped & screams could be heard, _'Don't take em' long anymore.'_ Charlotte thought to herself, she didn't even need to look back to know what had become of the men.

"Where are we going now?" Sophia asked in a small voice. "I don't know, darling, I just don't know. I just hope your group turned around before they got here."

"If you want to survive, you've gotta fight!" The whole group gathered around for Shane's speech as he began passing out guns, Rick yelled at him to stop, Hershel just stood, his walker in hand, dumbfounded as Shane put them down. "Shane… STOP!" Rick bellowed but it was like his friend didn't even hear him, he began beating the lock until it broke & threw open the barn doors.

Walkers poured out & they put them down in rapid succession… until one lone figure emerged, wearing capris & a rainbow T shirt that looked painfully like Sophia's, everything seemed to slow down, Daryl caught Carol as she tried to rush to what once was her daughter, Shane gave Rick a dejected look that was somewhere between 'I told you so' & horror at the discovery, Rick stepped forward & with tears in his eyes, put her down.

"How is she?" Lori said. "Same, we need Hershel, but no one can find him," Andrea said, Maggie's expression darkened. "I know where he went.

"Boys." Hershel greeted Glenn & Rick as they entered. "Hershel, we're here to bring you home, your baby daughter's very sick & she needs you." Rick said. "Oh… I think I've done enough, making them think their momma was sick or something… that she might get better when in reality I was feeding her rotting corpse. They lost their mother all over again today, if I had listened to what the others were telling me, instead I chose to ignore it." Hershel said expressionlessly.

"Drinking yourself to death isn't the answer either; your daughters need you now more than ever!" Rick protested. "I'm no good to them, Rick. I don't know how to operate in this new world, we are taught in the bible that one day the lord will resurrect the dead… I just didn't think it would be like this." "You can't help your wife or your friends, but you can help your daughter from suffering the same fate." Rick said, Hershel looked at him for a moment before turning his glass upside down & standing. "Let's go." He said.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine could be heard & two men stepped inside the bar, one short & stocky, the other quite obese despite the new world they lived in. "I'm sorry, we were just leaving." "Where to?" the strange men asked, Hershel, Rick & Glenn looked at each other. "We just stopped in for a drink." "Same here!" Whata you say, lawman, how's about setting us up with a round? I'm Dave by the way, that's Tony." The shorter man said, gesturing to his heavy set friend who had just finished pissing in the corner like an animal, Glenn tried to hide his grimace as Rick served them drinks.

Sophia looked nervously at Charlotte as they approached the small town, outside of the bar a vehicle was parked, Sophia's eyes lit up. "That's my mom's car!" she exclaimed, suddenly, a huge, black truck careened around the corner as they heard a barrage of gunfire from inside the bar. Charlotte took a hard right & parked the truck out of view in an alley between the pharmacy & a small café.

They watched as a group of men piled out & fanned out, it was too dark to see exactly how many. One was barking orders at the others they scoured the area before stopping at the bar, apparently there was someone in there. "Stay here, Sophia." "Wait… where are you going?" The girl said as she gripped Charlotte's arm painfully. "I think there's folks held up in that bar, those bastards have them surrounded, I have to help them, but I … can't I can't take the shot from here… my eye…" she trailed off. Just stay here, lock the doors, stay low & keep quiet!" She said as she quietly shut the door.

The men were saying something to the people in side, she ducked down as more shots rang out & two of the men dropped, yelling in pain. She raised her rifle & aimed as best she could, it was times like this she wished those bastards had taken her left eye, her right was her shooting eye & she could no longer use a scope without it, she cursed as the shot went wide, hitting the man in the shoulder instead of his head.

He fell all the same riving in agony, she noticed a man on the roof of the adjoining building & aimed again, the shot missed him but in his surprise of being shot at, he lost his balance & fell, impaling himself on the fence. "Come on! There's some psycho mother fucker somewhere with a fucking gun! Let's get the fuck outta here!" the man driving the truck said as his lone standing comrade jumped in & they sped off.

"Cautiously, Charlotte crept forward. "Stop right there!" she heard a voice right behind her, she put her hands, one still holding her rifle over her head & turned around to face him, the small Asian man almost lowered his weapon in shock at her face, like many people did. "Uh… hey." She said, forcing a smile. "I saw all that go down & thought you might need some help." She said as two other men joined the man nemed Glenn. Glenn looked at the younger of the two, who nodded to him & he lowered his weapon. "My name is Charlotte, I wish we could meet on better terms, but that seems impossible these days." She said in attempt at lightening the situation.

"Mr. Grimes?" they turned sharply at the small voice, the lawman & the others almost dropped their guns in shock. "Sophia?!" Glenn said as the cop rushed forward & embraced her. "I gather she belongs to you." Charlotte said with a smile, the tall cop extended his hand, she noticed that his gaze darted to her patched eye momentarily, but he didn't react to it like most people did. "My name is Rick Grimes, this is Hershel & you've already met Glenn." The cop named Rick said.

"Come on, I think its best we get back while we still can, all this gunfire is going to be bringing walkers for miles." Hershel said. As if on cue, the telltale dragging gate & hungry moans could be heard, they also heard shouting, it was the man Charlotte had missed her shot on. "Can we help him?" Rick said as walkers closed in, Hershel shook his head, Rick ran his hand through his hair frustratingly & looked down at Sophia & then to the others as the injured man screamed for them to help him. His screams were drawing more walkers, they would soon be surrounded if they didn't leave quick. "I'm sorry." He said as Charlotte put her gun to the man's head & pulled the trigger.

_Author's note: Yes I decided not to do the whole Randal thing, I just thought it was stupid & took up a lot of time & whatever, hope you guys like it, Yes there will be eventual Daryl/OC, I was originally going to have them meet when he falls off the horse & gets injured but that was such a good scene like it was, so I decided to do it this way to omit Randal. _


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 4: The Reunion.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create.**

Lori & Carl ran to Rick & embraced him as the others caught up, Maggie hugged Hershel & led him to Beth's room, Glenn followed. "Come on, let's find your mom." Charlotte said, looking for an excuse to detach herself form this awkward scene. "We were staying in here." Sophia said as she went to the RV. "Excuse me… miss who… wait… Sophia?!" an older man said as he quickly climbed down the latter.

"Mr. Dale! Sophia said as the man embraced the small girl. "Your mother is never going to believe this! He said as he ushered her inside, leaving Charlotte outside, alone. After what seemed like forever, Sophia, the older man she called Dale, & an older, wispy woman with greying hair & tired eyes emerged, holding her daughter's hand. Before Charlotte could say anything, the woman threw her arms around her. "Thank you, for bringing my baby back." She said, her tearful voice muffled against Charlotte's shoulder.

"Uhh… sure." Charlotte said, awkwardly patting the woman on the back, unsure of what to do, she had been without physical contact with people for so long that she had all but forgotten how to socialize. Just then, the sheriff, Rick approached her. "I'm sorry for all this, you must be exhausted, let me see where you can stay." "Oh, that's really not…" "She can stay with us in the RV." Carol said, talking over Charlotte's protest, Rick smiled. "Ok then, see ya'll in the morning.

_Pain like she had never felt before gripped her, the right side of her face felt like it was on fire but still she ran, her & her sister, they could hear yells, gunshots, the sounds the walkers made when they were… feeding. "Just a little further, sis, come on, you can make it, just a little further & the next town we stop at we'll get you fixed up." Charlotte felt faint from the blood loss & she tripped over an exposed tree root._

"_Keep moving!" Her sister said as she hauled her to her feet._

Charlotte sat bolt upright in bed as she felt herself being shaken awake, her senses came back to her & the interior of the RV & the concerned face of Carol came into focus, Charlotte's hand reflexively flew to cover her scared eye, she took her patch off at night in order for it to be able to breathe, Carol smiled as she gently took hold of her hand & lowered it. "Don't worry, sweetie, their ain't no judging in here." She said as she handed her patch to her. "Best get ready, it's time for breakfast."

All eyes were on her as she walked to the breakfast table, they were a warm looking group these people, people that in a normal world wouldn't be caught dead together, were now as close knit as any kin family. Everyone looked like they had a million questions to ask her, but everyone was afraid to speak, that is until a tall, muscular man with a shaved head spoke first. "Where'd you say you found Sophia?" He said, Charlotte took an immediate dislike to this man's attitude & tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Charlotte said, her gaze remained casual & unwavering of her plate. "My name is Shane Walsh but that's not…" "Well, if I'm going to be interrogated, Shane Walsh, was it? Then I want to know your name." she said as her gaze met his.

Andrea tried to hide her smirk behind her coffee cup, the man sitting next to her on the other hand, didn't attempt to hide his amused snort at her comment. Their gaze met, he was handsome, with the most striking pair of blue eyes she had ever seen, she couldn't take her eyes off them, she noticed he couldn't tear his gaze from hers either but unlike most people she came across, he was focused not on her patch or ugly scar, but on her good eye. His gaze remained pinned on her as she spoke.

"If you must know, I came across her in the woods, the path she was on was takin' her straight into a couple of walkers, so I picked her up & we got the hell out of there. We spent most of our time trying to find you guys, but as luck would have it, we ran into each other." She said. "We owe you our lives." Hershel said, Charlotte blushed. "I wouldn't say that, I am a terrible shot at a distance, can't look through a scope anymore." She said as she tossed her napkin on the table.

"Fort Benning's gone." Charlotte told Rick & the handsome redneck whose name she had learned was Daryl after breakfast. "Gone?" Rick repeated as he & Daryl shared a troubled look. "Yeah, it ain't no more, we barely got out of there, looks like they napalmed the place to shit, there's cars all over the place, you can't even get near it." she said, Daryl kicked the ground angrily. "What're we gonna do now?" he asked, Rick ran his hand through his hair. "I'll think of something."

"You a good shot?" Daryl asked as Rick left their company. "Not at a distance, but up close I'm alright." She said. "Go see Dale, see if you can get on watch duty, lord knows we need more people for that, even if ya can't shoot you can still keep a look out; all he's got now is Andrea." He said she smiled politely. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been properly introduced; Charlotte." She said as she held out her hand, he hesitated, almost as though he was afraid her hand would bite him if he touched it before gripping it briefly. "Daryl." He grunted & with that he stalked off.

"Excuse me, Dale?" Charlotte said, craning her neck up at the man perched atop the RV. "Yes, what can I do for you miss… Charlotte was it?" "Daryl said something about you needing more people to take watch." Dale brightened. "Yes, I do, care to volunteer?" "Sure, I'll take a night shift, I don't sleep anyway." Charlotte said with a smile.

Charlotte nodded to Carol as she ascended the latter to join her atop the RV. "Brought you a plate of food, seeing as you didn't show for dinner." She said, Carol noticed that she was mindful to angle her face where only the left side was visible, Carol assumed that it was an acquired habit but didn't say anything about it. "Never been much for the social scene." "So, you skip eating?" Charlotte shrugged in reply.

"I know what kind of … treatment you must have gotten in the past, I should know, my husband used to beat me & the way he looked at Sophia… I knew it was only a matter of time before he…" She trailed off, Charlotte looked at the ground, getting the jest of what she was saying. "All I'm trying to say is people here, they accepted me, they did everything they could when Sophia went missing, just give them a chance." She said as she squeezed Charlotte's shoulder warmly as she sat the plate of food beside her. "Eat up now." She said, Charlotte gave her a warm smile, maybe this place was different.


	5. Chapter 5: Better Days

**The walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 5: Better Days**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING I don't create!**

"Ah, geeze!... Dale… maybe I'm not the man for this." Glenn said as he blotted his bleeding knuckles on his handkerchief. "Need some help?" A voice came from behind them, they turned to see Charlotte standing there she was wearing a tool belt & had has thumbs hooked in the front of it. Dale smiled warmly at her, Glenn however, made a conscious effort to put his gaze anywhere but on her face.

"You a mechanic?" Dale asked, she chuckled. "You could say that I guess, my brother had a bike shop when I was growing up, our mom died when I was young & my brother raised me & my sister. He used to make us help him after school every day, I think he was trying to keep us out of trouble." She said, a sad smile crossing her face. "We have a bad fan belt, a couple of the bolts that are holding it on are corroded & our hands are too bug to get in there, think you can reach it?" She shrugged. "I can try."

"So… You're just gonna let this girl waltz in here become part of us? We don't even know her! there's a lot of bad people out there, brother, are you sure? Look at her! does that look like the face of someone we can trust?" Shane said as they hauled supplies to repair the windmill. "She took care of Sophia, Shane! Does that sound like something a bad person would do? A bad person would have left her for dead or worse!" Rick paused in an effort to compose himself.

"I think we at least owe her the offer to join us! we can't just send her away to god knows what kind of fate!" Shane opened his mouth to protest but Rick would hear none of it. "This discussion is over, Shane, I don't want to hear any more about it, & that's final." Shane gave Rick a murderous look & stormed off.

"What's his problem?" Andrea asked as Shane passed her in a huff, Rick ran his hand through his lengthening hair. "He… thinks that taking in Charlotte is a mistake, I think he believes she was part of the group that shot at me, Glenn & Hershel." "You agree with him?"

"No, but you know Shane, when he makes his mind up about something, there's no changing it. Can you do me a favor & keep a second set of eyes on him for me?" "You want me to babysit him?" "I want you to _watch_ him & make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, Shane he… he hasn't been in a good place lately." Rick said as he excused himself, Andrea blew out a sigh as she watched his retreating form.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Andrea asked as she joined Charlotte, who was elbow deep in a huge tub or dirty laundry. "Good." Charlotte said breathlessly as she scrubbed away, Andrea noticed that her hands were red, chaffed & raw from the soap & the washboard. "You know, you don't have to work so hard." She said as she gave her a kind smile, Charlotte returned it. "It's ok, I don't mind, I want to pull my weight around here."

It was true, it wasn't like she had a lot to offer these people, before her… accident, she had been an avid hunter, probably every bit as good as Daryl. But since she lost her eye she couldn't shoot worth shit. She didn't know if it was really because she had lost her dominant eye & was just having trouble adjusting, or if it was because she was weak & couldn't cope, or a little bit of both. But one thing she wasn't was a fool, she knew that on her own she wouldn't last long & she needed these people more then they needed her.

"Oh, I think you do more then pull your weight; you've been taking watch every night, in the morning you help with breakfast & now you're washing clothes, I think you're pulling the weight of three people." She said.

"That guy, he doesn't like me." "You mean Shane? Oh don't worry about him." Andrea said nonchalantly. "Everything ok?" Lori said as she walked up, eyeing Andrea suspiciously. "Yeah, we were just talking." Andrea said, her tone curt & Charlotte noticed that she held Lori's equally hard gaze for a few beats before she excused herself.

"Did she say anything to you?" Charlotte shook her head. "No, everyone's been super nice since I got her, I really appreciate it, & I've been trying to help out as much as I can to pay you guys back for your hospitality." Lori waved her concern off. "_We_ owe _you_, for getting Sophia back here, safe. You didn't have to do that & I know it wasn't easy."

"She's just a kid, couldn't leave her out there to be torn to bits by those son of a bitches." She said as she scrubbed away at the clothes, grimacing as the soap came in contact with her raw & chaffed hands, Lori put a hand on her shoulder. "How about we trade places & you fold for a while, it looks like your hands need a break." Charlotte nodded as they switched places.

"Were you always by yourself?" Charlotte paused for a moment in middle of hanging up a shirt on the line before continuing. "No… when this all started it was me, my younger sister & my older brother. We didn't know anything, you know? My brother was the only one who knew how to hunt & shoot & he taught us. Before all this, the only thing I knew how to shoot an arrow & the kick boxing classes I took to stay fit but when your life suddenly depends on what you know, you start learning quick."

Lori nodded, reflecting on how good she herself had become with a gun & a machete since all this started. "So… what happened to them, walkers?" Charlotte shook her head. "The walkers aren't the ones to fear anymore." Was all she would say & she was relieved when Lori didn't ask any more questions, they finished the laundry in silence.

"We're going to need to make another supply run, with Lori being pregnant & all & the winter coming we also need to stock up on food, supplies, warm clothes & whatnot." Rick said at dinner that night. "No way." Maggie said as Rick looked at Glenn. "Maggie… it's ok…" "No, its not ok, not to me!" She said, her eyes ablaze, Rick blew out an exasperated sigh & ran his hand through his hair. "I'll go, that suburb where Andrea & Shane looked for Sophia, I know where that place is, I'll take the Tucson & be in & out in no time." Charlotte said into the silence.

"You think we're going to just let you drive out of here with one of our best vehicles?" Shane said smugly. "That's exactly what we're going to do." Rick said, Shane threw his napkin down on the table stood up so quickly that he almost upset the table. "What if she just fucking drives off & never comes back, Rick? Then what we're one vehicle short again, what if something happens? We've already lost Carol's jeep, we can't afford to lose another car!" Shane roared in reply.

"That's why you're going with her. you're right, I need to be here… to take care of things here at home..." "I'll go." Daryl spoke up, all eyes shifted to him, he had distanced himself back when they thought Sophia had been in the barn the whole time, but even though she had been returned, he was slow to come back emotionally. "You sure?" Rick asked. "You heard me, I said I'll go wit' her." he said, but he wasn't looking at Rick, he was looking Shane dead straight in the eye, his gaze hard & unwavering, almost like he knew something everyone else didn't.

Lori looked from one man to the other, something unspoken seemed to be known between them, Rick seemed to know it two, because his expression changed from confusion & surprise to one of understanding. "Ok, that'll work. Carol will prepare some provisions; you two can head out at first light in the morning."

Charlotte was unsure what that was all about, but she knew one thing, she trusted Daryl a hell of a lot more then Shane. Something about him didn't sit right with her, she couldn't put her finger on it, but if living in this world taught her anything, it was to trust her intuition… & her intuition was telling her not to trust Shane any farther then she could throw him.

_Author's note: Hey everyone, I kept everything (except the part where they pick up Randal) the same, including the whole thing with Otis, this chapter happens one episodes after "Nebraska" which would have been "Trigger finger" & "18 miles out" I believe. remember... reviews are like a sugar high for a writer's fingers... i remember reading that somewhere... but i decided to use it because its true ^_~_


	6. Chapter 6: Fight the Dead

**The walking dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 6: Fight the Dead**

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & Claim nothing except what I create!**

_Author's note: As you know, without Randal, I had to add & change some things for it to lead up to Shane & Rick's final confrontation at the end of season 2, this will carry into season 3 taking into account the episode that just aired this past Sunday… just saying. _

Daryl & Charlotte made most of the trip in silence, Charlotte drove, since she knew the way & had been there before, she was glad for the silence, she was never much of a conversationalist even before the world ended & she was thankful Rick didn't decide to send 'Officer Interrogation' with her. Even though she couldn't physically see him, she could feel his piercing gaze on her, she glanced over at him & her suspicions were confirmed, he didn't even bother to avert his gaze, rather quite the opposite. "How'd you get that?"

She sighed, she knew he would asked eventually. "An accident." She said shortly. "Why do you want to know?" He shrugged "just curious, I ain't gonna tell no body, if that's what you're worried about." He said as his gaze dropped to the crossbow in his lap.

"When this all started, it was three of us, my older brother, my younger sister, & me. We didn't know anything survival wise back then, all we knew how to do was fix cars… well me & my brother that is… but we learned quick. About six months went buy & this group came across us, five guys, heavily armed. We tried to fight them & did succeed in killing a couple of them, but not before one of them gave me this with his hunting knife."

Daryl snorted "Bet that hurt like a bitch." She gave him a small smile. "It still hurts like a bitch sometimes, especially if it's coming rain or cold for some reason, it aches like hell." "Yer sister?" Charlotte shook her head as they arrived at the suburb. "Walkers… about three months after the accident, we were staying at an abandoned motel & got overrun." She said, grateful to be exiting the car so their minds could shift to something else besides her for a while.

She pulled out her handgun & screwed a silencer on it… just in case, but she'd rather use her machetes, & readied them instead. Daryl nodded to her as they entered the first on the row of houses.

"Hey… we need to talk." Rick said, craning his neck upward & shielding his eyes against the midday sun, he could barely make out Shane's silhouette against the glare atop the windmill. Shane paused for a moment before climbing down. "About what?" "About your attitude towards Charlotte, what do you have against her anyway?" "Just don't trust her." "That's not an answer, Shane & you know it." "You don't get a say anymore, Shane, not after all the shit you've pulled."

"You mean all the things I did trying to keep this group safe? & since when did I have a say anyway… since when did ANYONE have a say! You just keep bringing people into this group when we already have trouble providing for the ones we have! Winter's comin' Rick in case you've forgot!" Shane rounded on his friend. "Is that why you sent your new wingman with her instead of me? Because you don't trust me?" Rick said nothing, me merely held Shane's gaze.

Shane nodded in understanding, his eyes ablaze. "I see how it is now, you prefer the company of uneducated backwoods bastards & crazy one-eyed bitches to the guy who's always had your back, since we were kids, Rick!" "Yeah, til you decided to fuck my wife & try to take my family away from me." Rick retorted.

Shane snapped & tackled his former friend & soon they were rolling on the ground like a couple of angry dogs. "Hey!" Lori, who had been coming to speak with Shane, yelled as Glenn & T Dog ran over to break it up. "What the hell is going on here!" Andrea said as she looked from one seething, bloody man to the other in confusion. "Why don't you ask this no good son of a…" Shane said as he struggled against T Dog's restraint. "Okay, the two of you need to stop… NOW! Rick, go home, I need to talk with Shane… alone, GO!" Lori said, Rick hesitated but did as he was told, he shrugged off Glenn's hold on him & stalked off, the others followed, leaving Lori & Shane alone.

"What the fuck was that?" she quipped, Shane said nothing. "Shane, look I'm sorry for what I put you through but you have to understand, I thought my husband was dead, I thought that I was alone in this world, I needed some … comfort. That's all this was, I'm sorry if I led you on to believe it was something more. I thought we could at least be friends, that's why I asked you to stay, but I should have let you go when you had the chance." She said.

Shane remained quiet, taking all of this in. "I'm grateful for everything you did for us & that remains true, but now I think its best if we stay away from each other." She said as she excused herself, leaving Shane to his ever increasingly deranged thoughts.

"These houses are a gold mine." Charlotte said as they filled their second bag with canned goods & other nonperishables. "Yeah, but we'd better get goin' we've already been here too long, we can always come back, it's not like this shit's going anywhere." Daryl said, they crept to the front door to see a herd of walkers surrounding the Tucson. "Fuck!" Daryl said, Charlotte shook her head. "I ran track in college & marathons as a hobby, I can outrun em'."

Daryl opened his mouth to protest, to tell her she was fucking crazy. "Listen, I'll take a lap around these houses here, that'll give you time to get to the car, don't worry, walkers ain't actually known for their running skills." She said as they opened the door.

Charlotte exited first. "Hey, you sumbitches! Got some fresh meat right here for ya!" she said as she put a few down to get their attention & soon the whole herd was after her. She took a lap around the back of the houses, thanking their lucky stars these people didn't believe in privacy fencing, Daryl floored the gas petal when he saw her emerge & in a flash, she was in the passenger seat & they were off, zooming down the road.

As the suburb disappeared in his rear view mirror, Daryl released the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding, he didn't want to admit it, but he had been worried about that crazy one-eyed bitch. "Nice move." He said as they sped home "Don't look now, but I think we have company." Charlotte said as she eyed a vehicle in their rear view mirror, approaching fast.


	7. Chapter 7: Fear the Living

**The walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 7: Fear the Living**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING I don't create.**

"They should have been back by now." Rick said to Lori worriedly, Lori put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not too worried, she's with Daryl. You & I both know there's no one better to be stuck up a shit creek with." She said with a smile, Rick chuckled in spite of himself. "They are a pair, those two, a lot alike… they just don't know it. I sure as hell feel better sending Daryl with her then Shane." He said.

"Damn, for a crossover this thing's got some power, their truck can't even catch us!" Charlotte said, "We can't keep runnin forever… here, take the wheel." "Why?" "Cause, you can drive better then you shoot, give me your gun." He ordered, as shots pinged off the Tucson.

She did as she was told. She took hold of the wheel & lifted her leg over the center console so she could operate the accelerator. "I won't be able to reach the brake!" she yelled over the wind as he rolled down the window. "You ain't gonna need no fucking brake, jus worry about the gas & goin' in a straight line!" he yelled as he stuck her gun out of the window & fired.

A few pinged off the front fender of the truck, but a couple hit their left front tires & the truck swerved to & fro as the tires blew, he could see the driver curse & hit the steering wheel as he was forced to stop. "Yeah… Buddy! That's what I'm talkin' about!" She said as he slid back in & regained control of the car. "Did you see those guys, we totally smoked their asses! They didn't even know what hit them!" She said as she clapped him on the shoulder.

Daryl smiled in spite of himself, he hated to admit it but he liked this girl, she wasn't perfect but hell, neither was he… maybe that's why he took such a shine to her. "I think those guys, they're part of the same group that ambushed Rick, Hershel & Glenn at the bar that night." She said. "How you know that?" He quipped. "Just a feeling." He huffed at this "What is it with you women & _feelings_ all the time anyway?" she looked sharply at him, but as he glanced at her, she saw the ghost of a smile & she realized that his statement was meant as a joke.

It was after dark when they returned home, the whole group ran to them, Charlotte grunted as she was knocked back by a small impact, she looked down to see the shining tearful eyes of Sophia, barely visible in the light of the half moon. "I thought you'd never come back!" she said, her voice muffled against Charlotte's chest. "Ain't nothing in this world that would keep me away from you, kid." She said as she returned to her mother. "What did happen out there?" Rick asked, the whole group gathered to hear what had happened as Charlotte handed Carol & Lori the bags of supplies.

"Suburb got over run, it's like they lay in wait for someone to come by." Daryl said. "Then, on the way back we met some lovely folks who tried to shoot us, so we took them out. You should've seen it; I took the wheel & Daryl shot their tires out, it was like a scene right out of Rambo. " Charlotte said as she imitated a gun with her hands & pretended to fire, Glenn & a few others laughed at this, Rick's face remained serious.

"There were people after you?" "Yeah, I think they might be part of the group that attacked you guys at the bar that night." She said. "Any chance they could have followed you?" "Don' think so, we took a roundabout way back here, lotsa twists & turns." He said. "Still, I think we should do nightly patrols from now on, we'll take turns. Charlotte, you & Daryl get some rest, you've had a long day, you can take tomorrow's shift."

"Actually… I'm not tired, I'm still pumped up from this thing & a walk would do me some good." Charlotte said quickly, Rick smiled at her enthusiasm. "Ok, then you can go with Dale, just be careful, remember, those bastards aren't the only ones out there, keep an eye on each other." Dale saluted her as they went off. From his tent, Daryl watched them until the night swallowed their retreating forms _'You'd better take care of her, old man.'_ He caught himself thinking.

Realizing what he was doing, he shook his head like a dog with water in its ears, trying to rid his head of those thoughts about her, but she just wouldn't go away. Frustrated with himself, he picked up his knife & starting skinning squirrels, an activity that usually allowed him to clear his thoughts.

"So… how you holding up?" Dale asked as they walked along the fence line, Charlotte shrugged. "As good as ever I suppose." "Did you ever come to a decision about staying?" "I think I'll hang around for a while." Dale brightened. "Glad to hear it! Everyone will be happy you decided to stay." "Except Shane." She drawled. "Shane hasn't been on anyone's good side lately." Dale said darkly, suddenly, they heard a noise just ahead, Charlotte unclipped her holster & unsheathed her machetes as Dale readied his rifle.

They crested the clearing to find a downed cow, Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand as the smell hit her, the cow had been eviscerated, the smell of blood & innards hung heavy in the still air. Suddenly, something grabbed the back of Charlotte's jacket.

Dale grabbed the walker from behind, pulled it off Charlotte & shoved her out of the way, she fell backward, her head striking a rock, knocking the senses out of her. Dale fired his rifle but the walker was too close & the shot hit it uselessly in its stomach. It lunged for him & they both toppled over, the walker landing on top of him.

Dale screamed as the walker tore savagely at his gut, white hot pain tore through his abdomen as the thing tore him open, bloody drool dripping from its hungry mouth. Suddenly, the walker's face froze in mid snarl as its weight was lifted off him & was replaced by Daryl's; his face paled as he looked over dale. "Oh… Jesus…" he cursed.

Dale tried to speak but he couldn't seem to get the words to come out, the pain was so bad, he turned his head & reached for something to his left, Daryl followed Dale's wild eyed gaze & his heart went to reside in his feet as the motionless form of Charlotte came into view. "Oh… shit." He said as he rushed to her & turned her over, she had a nasty head wound but no bites or scratches that he could see, in the distance, he could hear the shouts of Rick & the others.

"Over here!" He bellowed as he flagged them down. "Oh…no!" Andrea said as she knelt next to Dale. "Walker… grabbed her…. tried … shooting… but …couldn't." Dale trailed off, the pain overwhelming him again as Rick yelled for Hershel. "Get her back to the house!" Hershel ordered T Dog, who gently scooped Charlotte's limp body into his arms. "I'll carry Dale, Glenn grab his…" Rick trailed off as Hershel shook his head. "He won't make the trip!" "Then do the operation here!" Rick said, his voice cracking with desperation as Dale struggled to breathe.

"He's suffering!" Andrea said tearfully as she took Dale's hand, Rick sadly pulled out his pistol & put it to Dale's head, but as he looked into the man's frightened, confused eyes, he couldn't do it, a hand closed around his gun & Daryl stepped into his place. "Sorry, brother." He said as he kneeled beside Daryl & pulled the trigger.


	8. Chapter 8: Truth, Lies & Kid Stuff

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 8: Truth, lies & growing up**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING I don't create!**

_Author's note: Being as we know the events leading up to Beside the Dying Fire, I have decided to kind of combine events from the two episodes in these two chapters to make it work for me, hope it turns out ok. o_O_

The group was quiet at breakfast, the thought of eating after burying one of their own didn't seem appealing to anyone as they all picked at their food in silence.

"Hey, shouldn't you be taking it easy?" Rick said after they all dispersed for the day. He craned his neck up at Charlotte, who sat perched atop the RV peering through a pair of binoculars, he noticed that she cupped her hand over the right lens & smiled in spite of himself at her ability to compensate for her shortcomings.

"I couldn't lie in bed anymore, besides it's not like I'm doing any hard labor here." She replied expressionlessly without lowering the binoculars. "Charlotte, can you please step down for a moment & talk to me?" Rick said, making an effort to keep the exasperation out of his voice. Charlotte lowered the binoculars & studied him for a moment before honoring his request.

She skipped the last couple of rungs of the latter & landed lightly on her feet in front of him. "Look… what happened to Dale, wasn't your fault, no one blames you, you don't have to isolate yourself." Rick said earnestly, Tears welled up in Charlotte's remaining eye. "It came at me on my blind side, I… I … didn't see him til it was too late, Dale pushed me out of the way. It should be me in the ground, not him." She said.

"Stop it, stop _torturing_ yourself. It isn't going to bring Dale back, we can honor Dale's memory & move forward. Dale isn't the first person we've lost & he won't be the last, what we have to worry about now is those we still have with us, those who depend on us." Rick said as he left her to her thoughts.

"Those houses had some pretty good stuff. The stew the girls made last night was awesome." Glenn said as he, Rick, Shane & Daryl cleaned the firearms. "Yeah, fucking Charlotte, she's quick as hell gettin' in & outta there. Might give you a run for your money, Glenn." He said as he clapped the Asian man on the back playfully as the others chuckled, if felt good to laugh for a change as Andrea walked up.

"Uh… have any of you seen Charlotte, I have something Dale … wanted her to have." She said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the pain out of her voice. "She ain't on watch?" Daryl asked. "No, I relieved her about an hour ago, I thought she'd be with you guys, helping clean & sharpen the weapons." Andrea said as her face came to mirror the same expression of growing worry that was going around the group of men.

"She's not with Lori & the others?" Rick said, Andrea shook her head. "They told me to check with you guys." "M… maybe she went out to patrol?" Glenn offered. "Naw she knows better n' to go out on her own." Daryl said. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Shane all morning, either." T Dog said, upon hearing that, Daryl leapt to his feet & swung his crossbow over his shoulder. "Wait a minute… let's not go jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts." Rick said as he put his hands up in a calming motion.

"Fuck that, man! You know how he is, he coulda led her out there or worse! I'm not gonna stand around with my thumb up my ass! We all know what happened to Otis!" he said as he stormed off. "HEY!" Rick called sharply after him, Daryl paused for a moment to calm his temper before turning around. "Take Glenn with you, T Dog & Andrea you stay here in case… in case he comes back." He said as they all dispersed.

Charlotte studied the surrounding forest as she walked, birds chirped cheerfully & squirrels chattered nosily in the trees as they all flitted & scurried about, busily preparing for the coming winter. A gentle fall breeze rustled the branches of the baring trees above her, causing a shower of leave to cascade lazily down through the canopy.

She made her way slowly through the forest, making it a point to stay vigilant. The fall season made it almost impossible to walk with stealth now that for forest floor was covered in a thick carpet of dead leaves.

She heard a twig snap behind her & she whirled around, drawing one of her machetes, the other hand hovered over her side arm. She spooked & cursed as she came face to face with Shane who had to dodge a reflexive swing from the gleaming steel blade. "Easy there, I come in peace." He said, his benevolent smile not reaching his eyes, there was always something off about them she couldn't place, like he was always plotting something.

"Rick sent me to find you." He lied easily, something that had become second nature to him now, she lowered her machete but didn't put it away. He took a step towards her & she backed up, raising it again. "A blade versus bullets, who'd you think's gonna win, girl?" he said, realizing she didn't buy his story. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you think you can draw quicker than me." He said smugly as her hand quivered above her colt.

Charlotte reluctantly raised her hands into the air, she knew he was right; even at close range, he had the advantage. Even if she managed to outdraw him, she knew he was a better shot. Shane moved forward quickly & took possession of her machete. "Whata you gonna do, Shane, say I attacked you? That you were right about me all along? They'll never believe you." She said as he led her to a large clearing overlooking the perimeter of the farm.

"Oh… I don't think I'll have a problem getting them to believe me." Shane said as he drew his gun & motioned for her to start walking ahead of him. "I'll tell them you confessed to me you were part of the group that shot up the bar that night." He said as he followed behind her. "& what… you come back with another dead person's gun?" She said over her shoulder.

"Shane… Stop!" Rick's voice suddenly reached them as he trotted breathlessly out of the surrounding darkness, his own gun drawn & trained on Shane. "What's happened to you, brother?" Rick said, Shane said nothing as he trained his gun at the head of his former friend. Charlotte gave him a hopeless look & he saw the glint of her machete stuck through his belt.

"I've tried everything I can think of, given you chance after chance, even after what you did to Otis, & yes, Shane, I figured it out a long time ago. You came back with a dead man's gun for god's sake!" out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlotte's hand slowly going for her colt in the holster. Part of him wanted to stop her, but he knew that Shane was beyond help. He slowly started to circle around his former friend, drawing his attention away from Charlotte as he kept talking.

"There's still a way back from this, we can turn back now & forget this whole thing happened." He said as he holstered his gun & put his hands in the air, secretly praying that Charlotte would be able to make her shot count if it came to that. Shane shook his head, a deranged gleam in his eyes.

"Everything was fine until you showed up, you just _had_ to be alive, you just couldn't be dead like you were supposed to be!" "You mean like how you made me out to be." Rick said, the hurt evident in his voice. "Look at you, Rick, you have a broken woman & a weak boy & you have no idea how to fix it, I'm a better father then you, a better leader for this group!" he said as he readied his gun.

Suddenly a shot rang out & Shane crumpled to the ground in a heap, Charlotte let out the breath she had been holding in as she let the pistol fall to her side. "Dad?" a small voice said, both of them whirled around to see Carl standing there, a horrified look on his face as his eyes darted from Charlotte to Rick.

"Carl, you're supposed to be at the house with your mom." Rick said, Carl trotted down the hill & embraced his father. "It's ok, dad. I saw everything, I don't blame you." He said as he looked up at his father with shining eyes. Rick clung to his son desperately, tears streaming down his haggard face.

"I'm sorry son, I'm so sorry. I've been treating you like a stupid little kid, from now on though, no more kid's stuff, ok? I wish you could have the childhood that I had, but I know now that isn't going to happen. People are going to die, one day me & your mother will die, & you need to be prepared for that." He said.

"Oh… shit." Charlotte said as she started backing toward the house, Rick turned to see what she was looking at & his face paled. "Back to the house… _now_!" he hissed as a huge herd of walkers came into view, hundreds of them descended on the farm, gathering speed as they caught sight of them.

_Author's note: I know that Rick waits for Shane to reanimate or whatever in the show but I didn't want to do it that way, I always felt that it was to drawn out & melodramatic, as was the whole carl putting down walker-Shane._


	9. Chapter 9: The Dying Fire

**The walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 9: The Dying Fire.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING I don't create.**

"Charlotte get back to the house & rally everyone, Carl, you come with me." Rick said as they split at a run. "Carl, you have to listen to me & do exactly as I say, ok?" Rick said as he gripped his son by the shoulders. "But… dad…!" Carl trailed off, tears in his eyes. "Remember what I said about no more kid stuff? I need you to help me, I'm going to draw them in the barn, as many as I can, when I give you the word take this lighter & drop it."

Rick grabbed a gas can & spread gasoline all over the floor of the barn, rushed outside & yelled to the herd, banging on the doors of the barn. Walkers flooded the barn, grabbing at Rick as he clamored up the latter into the hay loft to join his son.

"Drop it now!" Rick ordered, Carl did as he was told & they watched as the small herd of fifty or so walkers & the barn went up in flames. Relief washed over Rick as the RV, driven by Jimmy rumbled up next to the barn. "Jump!" Rick bellowed as he sent his son first.

* * *

"Lori, you Ride with T Dog, get the kids & get the fuck out of here!" Charlotte said as T Dog, needing no more convincing, began to herd Lori, Beth & Sophia to the pickup. "But… Carl & Rick!" Lori yelled. "I'll take care of them JUST GO!" she bellowed.

Carol screamed as the walkers cornered her against the side of the shed, there was nowhere left to run, she was blocked, then suddenly shots rang out & they started to fall, a path cleared to reveal Andrea who was taking Walkers out with deadly accuracy. "RUN!" She bellowed at Carol as she grabbed her hand & shoved her towards the farm's winding driveway.

Charlotte's keen ears picked up Carol's screams as she prepared to throw her leg over the back of Daryl's bike. "Wait… where ya goin!" he yelled above the chaos. "Go pick up Carol! I'll ride with Rick, Carl & Hershel!" she yelled, Daryl paused a moment to give her a pained grimace as he whirled the bike around in a cloud of dust.

"Hershel, its no use, there's too many!" Charlotte yelled as she shot down a few behind the older man, Hershel gave his farm a final agonized look before admitting defeat & clamoring into the back of the suburban alongside Charlotte.

"Where should we go?" Charlotte asked as Hershel watched his destroyed farm with tears in his eyes until it disappeared behind the bend. "We'll double back to the road where we first broke down, that's where the others… would go." He said, not willing to say what she thought, that he was uncertain of how many others made it out.

"Did you see Sophia?" Carol yelled to Daryl over the wind, Daryl hesitated before he answered. "Think I saw her with Lori & Beth." He replied. "Where are we going?" "To the road, that's where Rick & the others'll go." He replied.

Sure enough, a vehicle came into view in the distance, it was the Tucson. He throttled the bike & easily caught up with it, he pulled alongside & waved to Glenn & Maggie, Glenn waved back, a huge smile on his face, he motioned for Daryl to follow them & Daryl nodded to him & waved him onward as he dropped back to follow.

* * *

Carl, Hershel & Charlotte hid as a walker staggered by, this was the fourth one in an hour, sooner or later their luck was going to run out. "We can't keep doing this." Hershel said. "You go ahead, Rick, take Charlotte & Carl with you, I'll stay behind to wait for the others, if a walker gets me so be it." Hershel said, Charlotte shook her head vigorously. "If you stay, I stay." "No one is splitting up, the others will be along, we just have to wait." Rick said.

"What if there are no others Rick, we have to entertain that thought that we might be the only ones, & right now your responsibility is to your boy." Charlotte said, Rick rubbed his hand over his face before kneeling in front of his son. "Carl I'm sorry, but we can't stay here, its not safe."

"But mom… what if she…!" He trailed off, angry tears in his eyes. "Carl, remembered what I said about no more kid stuff? Being an adult means that sometimes, you have to make hard decisions." He said.

"Hey." Charlotte interrupted him, vehicles were approaching, they all readied their weapons, but breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it was Glenn, Maggie, Daryl & Carol. T Dog showed up not to long after with Lori, Beth & Sophia in tow. "Mommy!" Sophia cried as she & Carol ran to each other, Hershel ran to his family as did Rick.

Amidst the tearful reunions, Daryl, Charlotte & T Dog all stood awkwardly. "Glad you made it, man." Daryl was the first to speak as he gripped T Dog's hand & clapped him on the shoulder. Daryl then turned to Charlotte. "I'm glad you made it, pirate girl." He said, his gruff voice a couple of octaves below its normal tone. His hands were jammed nervously into his pockets, but his eyes never left hers.

Charlotte blushed. "It'll take more than a few hundred walkers to take me out." She said jokingly. "Now we've all found each other, let's get going." Rick said. "Carol, Sophia, you can ride with Rick, Lori & Carl in the suburban, I guess I'll ride with T Dog…"

"Like hell you are, you're ridin' with me, pirate girl." Daryl interrupted as he gestured to the back of his bike, his expression let her know this was not up for negotiation, not that he had a problem with T Dog, but he still, for some reason, couldn't stand the idea of her alone in a car with another man.

"Ok, I then that's settled, lets get a move on." Rick said, trying to hide his amused smileas they got baack on the road.

* * *

It turned out to be a good decision on Charlotte's part, because after about an hour or so of traveling, they heard a honk from behind them. "Been runnin' red for the past few miles, I ain't got nothing left." Rick said. "I can make a run for gas real quick, there's a little gas station not too far from here. If I hurry I can be back before dark." Glenn said.

"No, no one is separating, its too late. We'll stay there for the night & figure something out in the morning, we can't risk someone not coming back & the rest of us being stranded without another car." "What do you think we are now?" Glenn said, the others were beginning to agree with him.

"Look, this is what we're gonna do, if you don't like it, there's the door, no one is making you stay here, if you think you can do a better job alone then fine, but if you do stay know this, this isn't a democracy anymore, I'm not going to have what happened with Shane start all over again with people pulling rank on me." He said, his tone harsh, everyone's eyes were on the camp fire, no one would meet his hard gaze.

_Author's note" I also omitted the part where the camera pans over the abandoned prison, because I thought it was kind of stupid that in the season 2 finale they made it seem like it was right there the whole time & they didn't even know it, so I'm going to do it a little different. Now that this is going into what would be season 3, this is just going to be my ideas what I THINK is going to happen, based on what we have seen so far up to now including the episode that just aired._

_Thanks so much for all who faved, read & reviewed, it really means a lot to me that you like it enough to fave it : ) I will try to update as regularly as I can._


	10. Chapter 10:The Prisoners & the Survivors

**The Walking Dead Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 10: The Prison & the Prisoners**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create!**

_Author's Notes: Since I'm sure we have all seen what happens up to this point, I have decided to skip up to the part where they meet the prisoners in the cafeteria after Rick hacks off Hershel's walker-bitten leg. I struggled (& still struggle) long & hard whether or not I wanted to do it this way (which was the reason for the delay in posting chapters), I knew I wasn't going to change the events in the season 3 premiere 'Seed' so I decided to do it this way. Sorry for any confusion this might cause._

"Get me some towels!" Rick bellowed at Glenn, who sprang into action as Hershel slipped into unconciousness, this prison was supposed to be their salvation, a safe haven. But so far it had only managed to be little more then a disaster. Daryl looked to Charlotte & saw her eye dart momentarily to something behind them. "Duck." He hissed to Rick & the others as he & Charlotte stood, weapons trained on a small group of prisoners, gawking from behind the serving line of the cafeteria.

"Holy shit!" one of them said as his eyes darted from Charlotte's scarred face to Hershel's bleeding, unconscious form on the floor. "Why don't you guys step on out, nice n' easy." Daryl said, the five men did as they were told, careful to keep their hands where they could be seen.

"Hey, man. Take it easy. We don't mean no harm." The large black man said. "They call me Tiny, these here are my boys; Oscar, Axel, Andrew, & Tomas. We had kitchen duty when things started going down, we hid out."

"there was handcuffs on the door, how'd they get there?" Daryl asked, Tiny shrugged his massive shoulders. "Don't know, one of the guards I guess." He said as Glenn rushed back with a load of towels & thrust them at Rick. "We need to get him back to the cell block." Rick said. "Which one?" Tomas asked, he was stout & tough looking with a Latin accent. "C." Glenn answered.

"We can take the tunnels, they run under the entire prison, from the old days, we know the way, we'll take you but we want something in return." Tomas said. "A way out? The REC yard's been cleared, you can stroll right outta here. Consider yourselves pardoned by the great state of Georgia." Daryl said, Tomas shook his head. "Ain't no better anywhere else, I propose an alliance."

"I don' think so." Daryl said, Tomas shrugged. "Then I guess your friend bleeds to death, unless you want to take your chances out there." He said, a smug grin on his face as he jerked his head at the door, Charlotte turned to Rick. "We ain't got no other choice." Rick struggled with it for a moment before relenting. "Lead the way." He said.

Daryl, Charlotte & Rick were hyper vigilant in the dark, dank atmosphere of the tunnels. "You ain't got nothing to worry about, there ain't no way those things can get in here, the doors only open from the inside & even then you need a key." Tiny said as they reached an iron door with huge letters painted on it that read 'CELL BLOCK C'.

"Oh, thank god!" Lori said as they appeared, her expression looked like she wanted to ask questions about the men with them, but she decided against it. "Oh… my god!" Carol said as they laid Hershel on one of the beds. "He's bleeding through the sheets, help me elevate his leg." Carol said as Carl kept his gun trained at Hershel's head in case he took a turn for the worst.

"Make yourself useful & hold this against the wound while I tighten the tourniquet." Rick ordered Tiny, who did as he was told. "You, grab the medical bag & bring it here… NOW!" He said, pointing at Axel. With a collective effort, they finally managed to get the bleeding under control. So why's this guy so damn important anyway?" Oscar asked, Charlotte rounded on him, her pistol pointed at his temple. "Because, he's a doctor… & he's our friend." She said venomously.

"Rick, can I talk to you for a moment?" Charlotte said once everything had calmed down, he wordlessly led her a little further from the rest of the group before they continued. "I don't think we're going to be able to take the rest of this prison, you saw how it was in there & we can't afford to have any more people injured."

Rick's jaw tightened but he remained silent as she continued. "We have the tunnels; we can use those when we need supplies & whatever." He remained silent, she studied him for a moment, unsure if anything she had said had registered with him. She let out a defeated sigh & walked off, leaving him to his thoughts.

"Hey." Daryl said softly as he joined her at the barred window long after everyone else had fallen asleep, she tilted her face towards him so she could bring him clearer into her field of peripheral vision, her main gaze not leaving the REC yard. "Helluva day." He said, she nodded silently, willing herself not to reveal to him the effect he had on her.

Seven cold, long months on the run, constantly fighting for their lives against the living & the dead didn't leave much time for… other things, but that didn't mean she didn't allow herself to fantasize about it every once & a while when things were quiet & she was alone. They stood in silence for a moment, their gazes on the REC yard, barely visible, for it was a new moon.

Charlotte was suddenly aware of Daryl's hand at the nape of her neck, stroking her cropped, spiked hair, his actions sent bolts of electricity to places she never knew were connected to her hair follicles. His hand came to rest on her upper arm as he gently turned her to face him, out of instinct; she angled the good side of her face towards him.

His eyes darkened as he cupped her chin & tilted her face so that he could see both sides. "You don' have to hide from me, pirate girl." He said, his rough voice had that gentle tone to it he only seemed to use when he spoke to her alone. Tears welled up in her good eye & she suddenly threw herself at him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist as he snaked his around her shoulders, drawing her closer. He rubbed her back in silent soothing as he felt her sobs shake her thin, petite frame. All those months of ridicule, of judgment, of self-loathing she had been suppressing since her accident poured out of her in the form of her tears.

Daryl said nothing, he merely continued to hold her as she desperately clung to him silently wishing he could show her what the others saw, what _he_ saw; that she wasn't the broken, scarred monster she saw when she looked at herself. She was strong, she was resilient, & she was a survivor. To him she was _beautiful _& anyone who thought otherwise could go fuck themselves.

_Author's note: Ah… & there you have it, now I know I'm no writer or anything, so if it sucks I'm sorry. I struggled with how to do this, how I could make an escape for them out of the cafeteria, this was the only way I could think of how to do it, I got the idea looking at photos of old sanitariums & institutions & how they had tunnel systems under them. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, I really do appreciate it : )_


	11. Chapter 11:Woodbury & New alliances

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 11: Woodbury, New Alliances & Old Enemies.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create!**

_Author's note: This chapter will pick up at the part where Andrea & Michonne are 'captured' by Phillip, the Governor of Woodbury & will focus partly on them & partly on the prison group._

"Head's up, someone's coming." Michonne said as she helped an ailing Andrea behind a group of large trees & drew her sword. The forest became deathly quiet as both women waited, every muscle in their bodies poised for defense, their adrenaline coursing.

Michonne looked around the trunk of the tree & came face to face with the mouth of an assault rifle. "Oh, shit!" She said as she realized they were surrounded, Andrea, in no shape to fight back, slowly put her hands in the air as their weapons were stripped & they were ordered to their feet.

"Your friend, she's very sick, you're lucky we found you when we did." A tall middle aged man said. "I'm sorry, we haven't been formally introduced, my name is Phillip." He said as he offered his hand, Michonne didn't take it, she merely eyed him suspiciously. The man named Phillip waited for a moment, but it soon became evident that Michonne wasn't in a talking mood; he left her to her solitude.

* * *

Hershel managed a weak smile as Charlotte entered his cell. "How you holdin' up, Doc?" she said as she sat at the edge of his bed. "Best as I can I suppose." He said as he looked down at what used to be his leg. "Fine stitching job, I must say, dear." Charlotte's cheeks flushed.

"My sister was a ER trauma care nurse, she taught me how to stitch things up & I taught her how to fix shit." She said as Carol entered with a place of food. "I'll leave you to eat, when you get ready we'll see about making you something you can get around with." She said in parting.

* * *

"You can't keep us here, we haven't done anything!" Andrea said as Michonne held her back. "You misunderstand me, ladies. You're not prisoners here, you're guests." He said as he opened the door, the bright light of day momentarily blinded them as they stepped outside.

A picturesque town came into focus, here it was like the end of the world had never happened; shops, restaurants, & cars lined the cobblestone streets as people strolled about, oblivious to the chaos of the world outside. "Welcome to Woodbury." Phillip said, the pride was evident in his voice. "As I said before, you're not prisoners here; you can leave whenever you want but you are also welcomed to stay as long as you like." He said as he left their company.

"What do you think?" Andrea said as they strolled slowly down the street. "I don't trust em'." She replied, her expression hard. "We don't have many options, Michonne. You know what's like out there." Andrea said. "I don't know if I like it any better in _here_." Michonne replied.

* * *

"What do you mean we're running out of food?" Rick said as he ran his hand through his hair. "Sorry, copper. Most of the food here was frozen, that went bad when we lost the electricity & we've almost gone through all the canned goods already." Oscar said.

"Daryl, tomorrow I want you to set out at first light on a hunting trip, you know what to do. Glenn & Charlotte, as our best in & outers, I want you to make a run into that small town we passed through on the way here & see what you can scare up in the way of food & provisions." They wordlessly nodded as they dispersed to pack for the coming day, everyone knew better than to question Rick's decisions anymore.

"Hey, I need to make a run to the armory for weapons & ammo, wanna come with? I could use someone to watch my back." Charlotte said to Daryl after dinner that evening, Daryl stood quickly from his perch in front of the window. "Let me just let Rick know." He said.

"I hate these fucking tunnels." Charlotte said as they crept along, weapons at the ready, the growls & shuffling gaits of the prison walkers could be heard through the metal walls. The sound resonated around the tunnels, making it sound like they were just out of sight, hidden somewhere in the darkness.

They came to the door labeled 'CAFETERIA', juggling her flashlight, Charlotte fumbled for the right key. "I need to mark this, just in case we get in a pinch on the way back." She said as she took out her knife & scratched a line into the rusted metal.

"Ya know, one of the prisoners coulda done this." He whispered as they scoped the cafeteria out, Daryl saw the rod they had stuck through the handles of the door was still there & cautiously entered. "oh, I know, I volunteered." She said casually, Daryl's brow furrowed & his eyes darkened in concern at her penchant for taking the suicide missions, but he kept his feelings to himself.

"You should've told me you didn't want to come, then I _would've_ asked one of them." She said. "That's not what I meant." He replied shortly. "Then what did you mean?" She quipped, eying him sharply, funny how someone with only one eye could have such a powerful stare that it even made Daryl uncomfortable.

'_Because; I like you, care about you, I … think I … might be falling in love with you. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you.'_ He yearned to tell her. "Jus' forget it." he blurted out irritably instead as he pushed past her. Charlotte smirked at him as she followed, amused at his moodiness.

* * *

"So you have decided to leave us after all." Andrea managed a smile, she had fully recovered & was anxious to find the rest of her group. "Yeah, I think its best if we get going, we want to find the rest of my people." She said without thinking, Michonne shot her a sharp look, Phillip seemed interested at this utterance. "Others?" He quipped.

"I… I don't know, we got overrun by walkers at our camp & I was separated, I don't know if any of them made it but I have to find out for sure." Phillip nodded. "Like I said, you're not prisoners here, you're free to leave." He said as he motioned for one of his men to escort them to the door as another handed them their weapons.

Phillip waved a final, friendly goodbye as they disappeared into the forest tree line. Once they were out of his line of sight, he motioned another one of his men forward. "Follow them, keep an eye on them, if there are others, I want to know about it. Report back to me what you find out." He said.

_Author's note: thanks for all of you who faved & reviewed this story! ^_^ I hope it doesn't disappoint. _


	12. Chapter 12:Weapons walkers & romance

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 12: Weapons, Love & Walkers.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create!**

_Author's Note: as always, thanks to everyone who faved & is following this story, so happy you're hanging in there, I'm flying by the seat of my pants with this myself LOL._

Daryl peered through the grate of the AC vent at what was once the warden's office. Even with the tunnels, which did help immensely when they had to get around the prison, they didn't open up to every nook & cranny. Charlotte concluded that it was done as a safety precaution in the event of an escape or a riot.

Daryl held a finger to his lips as he pointed downward, a walker whom they assumed was formally the warden stood, as if at rest, Daryl raised his crossbow but Charlotte put her hand over it & shook her head. She pointed to the walker & they watched its behavior & he recalled the behavior of the ones in the houses they had raided over the winter as well as the one that had bitten Hershel. It was almost like they… _rested, _laying in wait for someone to come along.

Daryl however, soon grew tired of walker watching & jerked his crossbow from Charlotte's grasp, an annoyed look on his face, she rolled her eye & motioned for him to carry on, a playful smirk on her face. He scowled at her & irritably motioned for her to take the cover off the vent so he could get a clear shot, her smirk remained as she did as she was told.

Daryl dispatched the warden-walker before it even had time to notice their presence, he dropped down lightly into the wardens' office & had a look around to make sure it was clear before he reached his arms up to Charlotte & motioned for her to jump. He caught her easily & gently lowered her to the ground, not that it was hard, she was lucky if she weighed a buck fifteen soaking wet.

"Uh… thanks." She said shyly as they stood, her hands on his shoulders, his at her trim waist. He said nothing but his piercing blue eyes darkened as he looked intently at her, it made her self-conscious & she, a slave to a deeply ingrained habit, averted her gaze to the floor at the right side of the office as though something there had suddenly become very interesting.

Daryl's nostrils flared as he gently placed his hand on the right side of her face & turned it so it squarely met his. "I told ya… you don' have to hide from me." He said, time seemed to disappear as they stood, lost in each other's eyes, the magnetism of their growing feelings for each other unwittingly closing the gap between them.

He brought his hands up & cupped her face, his thumbs gently caressing the sensitive skin at her jawline. Charlotte's lips parted & her eye fluttered shut as a sigh escaped her in response to his touch. His lips were inches from touching hers when a banging sound jolted them back to reality, suddenly remembering where they were; they broke apart & reached for their weapons. Daryl cursed silently, fucking walkers; they always had to ruin everything.

"They smell us." Daryl said, clearing his throat uncomfortably as he tried to quell his arousal from their stolen moment. "The prints of this place say the armory should be right off the wardens' office through that door." Charlotte said awkwardly as she nodded her head toward a pair of large wooden doors at the opposite end of the office, trying to get her swooning thoughts back on the task at hand.

"We'd better get goin' Rick's gonna be havin' kittens if we ain't back soon." Daryl replied, shortly. The unresolved sexual tension between them was so strong, even a walker would've noticed & it exacerbated his already sullen, surly nature.

The doors were padlocked with a heavy chain they didn't have a key to. Charlotte fished around in her pocket & produced nothing but a simple straightened paperclip. This new world had taught her a lot of new skills that was for sure & after a minute or two of shimmying, it popped open.

Behind them, they could hear the warden's office door begin to creak under the pressure of the horde of walkers behind it, their growls of determination becoming more persistent. "We don't have much time." Daryl said as she threw the doors to the armory open, taking the chain & the lock with her, once they were inside, she closed the doors behind them & wrapped the chain around the handles as tight as it would go & slid the lock through it.

"What r' you doing!" Daryl said, outraged. Smirking, Charlotte jabbed her thumb toward the ceiling where he spotted a vent, & vents led to the duct work. "Come on, let's load up." She said as they started piling weapons, & ammo into their duffels until they could carry no more.

"Give me a boost so I can pry the cover off this vent." She said. He hoisted her onto his shoulders like a parent would a child at a parade. Charlotte couldn't resist the urge to giggle as she playfully ruffled his hair. "Hey…!" Daryl said as he angled an annoyed glance up at her. "Just get it off already, you're fucking heavy!" he rebutted, she giggled again & playfully boxed his ears. "Charlotte!" he bellowed as he grabbed her hands.

"Ok… ok… I can't do anything if you dont let go of my hands." She said, still laughing. Daryl felt his face grow red as he let her hands go & in no time, she had the cover off. "Here, let me down & I'll give you a boost. Then you help me up." She said.

Suddenly, they both jumped, hands flying to their weapons as the doors behind them gave a great shake, the chain rattling against them nosily, Charlotte hurried forward & made sure the lock was secure, she could always pick it again if she needed to.

She cupped her hands & boosted Daryl into the ductwork, then handed the bags full of weapons & ammo to him before following him up. "If we follow this around this should take us back to where we first dropped out." Charlotte said as they swung the duffels over their shoulders & began crawling.

Twenty or so walkers were in the office now, they growled & reached uselessly up at them, drool dripping from their blackened mouths as Daryl & Charlotte crawled past them & out of sight. But Daryl's focus was on Charlotte's firm, shapely ass & legs, their muscles flexing & relaxing beneath the fabric of her jeans as she crawled.

A groan escaped him & his hands balled into fists as his body flooded with white hot desire. "You ok?" she said as she stopped progress & looked back at him worriedly. "Jus' keep goin'!" he growled through gritted teeth, the sooner he got her ass out of his face, the better.

"There you guys are! Shit, Rick's been worried sick!" T Dog said as they emerged from the tunnels. "You go rest, Daryl; I'll take the weapons to Rick." Charlotte said, Daryl hesitated. "You sure?" he asked, she gave him a reassuring smile & nodded.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Rick said as she handed him the bags. "We got the job done, didn't we?" she said tiredly, hands resting on her hips. "The tunnels only get us so far, so we had to take the high road by way of the ventilation system." Charlotte said, Rick's shoulders slumped as his worry left him. "Daryl?" "He's fine, I told him to turn in, he's got a big day tomorrow." Rick smiled at the fact that Daryl actually took her advice.

"So do you." He replied, a benevolent smile on his haggard face. "Insomniac, remember? I don't need much sleep anyway." Rick put a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "Thank you, for everything." "Ain't nothing." She replied, blushing as she excused herself to bed, Rick was right about one thing; he was going to be a big day tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13: Old enemies

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 13: Return of Old Enemies.**

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing except the characters a create.**

Glenn sat bolt upright in bed, reaching for his machete he always kept holstered & hanging within reach as he was prodded awake. "Whoa, easy tiger, I come in peace." Charlotte whispered as she raised her hands where he could see them, a smile on her face. Glenn's face relaxed as he let out the breath he had been holding. "It's almost dawn, we'd better get goin'." She said.

They made most of the trip in silence, Glenn drove, Charlotte watched the Georgian landscape whizz past her window, lost in thought. So much had changed in the year or so since this whole thing started. in the former world she had been professional model, she hadn't hit anything big yet but she was on her way, her career looked bright.

A dream that, even if the world did manage to restore itself from this plague, she would never be able to realize, thanks to some bastard with a hunting knife.

She remembered it like it was yesterday; she still has nightmares about it. Their group storming their camp, her brother, being overpowered yelling at them to run. One of them grabbed her sister & tried to rape her.

She remembered pushing her sister out of the way & sinking her hunting knife into the man's thigh, she had been going for his manhood but she missed. She could still see the gleam of the blade as he raised his knife, then… pain like she'd never felt before.

Then the walkers came, everything happened so fast, the next thing she remembered was her & her sister running for it, her sister screaming at her to keep moving.

She shook her head as she smirked humorlessly to herself, maybe this was god's way of punishing the human race for the crimes they've committed against the earth, & each other. "Charlotte?" Glenn's voice roused her from her thoughts. "We're here." He said.

* * *

"What do you think?" Michonne said as Andrea handed her the pair of binoculars. "It looks abandoned to me, I don't see anything but a bunch of dead walkers." "Someone had to kill em'." Michonne said. "Maybe they were killed when this all first started happening?" "I don't think so." Michonne said as she handed her the binoculars.

Andrea could see movement in the prison REC yard, someone was living there… but who? Suddenly, they heard a trig snap behind them; they whirled around, Michonne's hand darting to her katana, Andrea's to her pistol. Once she saw who it was, her hand fell to her side in shock. "Daryl?" she said as they all stared in shock at one another.

* * *

"The walker migration must've kept everyone away from here, it's barely been touched." Glenn said as they piled canned goods & other nonperishables into their bags, Charlotte chuckled. "Migration… I like that. Guess they were making up for the lack of mobility they had during the winter, most of the ones we killed looked pretty starved." She said.

Unpronounced to them, a figure watched them from the cover of the trees. "Well, I'll be a sumbitch." He said as an evil smile spread across his face. Suddenly, a beeping sound came from the radio at his side, he scowled as he answered it. "It's the ole' prison." He drawled. "Go back there & sit on it, I'm sending a team to Rendezvous with you, we're going to take back what was ours." a voice crackled in reply.

* * *

"Andrea! Ok, my god!" Lori said as they all embraced her. "Guys this is Michonne, she saved my ass back there in the woods, without her I'd have been dead for sure." She said, Rick smiled. "Glad to meet you." Michonne nodded as everyone shook her hand.

"Good to meet you all." She said politely. "You must be tired, I know this isn't much but you are free to a cell bed if you'd like. Michonne thanked him awkwardly as she went to check them out.

"There's this other place, this town called Woodbury. It's beautiful, it's like this whole thing never happened." Andrea told everyone at dinner. "Yeah, it'd be great if the Governor wasn't an untrustworthy bastard." Michonne said. "He seemed like a nice enough guy, Michonne doesn't trust him." Andrea said with a smile.

"I don't trust nobody, you can't afford to in this world." Michonne stated, a dark smile crossing her face. "You trusted me." Andrea said, Michonne shook her finger at her. "It was _you_ who trusted _me_." She replied. Suddenly, Rick's radio crackled. "You'd better get out here, we got company." Charlotte's voice came over the frequency.

"Carl, Andrea, Michonne, you stay here in case… in case whoever this is get through, everyone else come with me." Rick ordered as they all grabbed weapons from the bag. "Guard this with your lives." He said as he handed the bag to Andrea.

"Hey! Come on, law man! Is that anyway to greet your ole' pal, Merle?" the man said as they all raced up to the gated entrance with weapons at the ready. "Hey, lil' brother! You look good! Bein' Rick's lil' bitch's been good fer ya!" Merle said, Daryl said nothing, but the rifle he held didn't waver.

"Here's your chance, bro; leave these losers, come join the winning side. We got plenty a' food, water, shelter & all the bitches you could ever want!" Merle said, Daryl remained silent, & still, his gun never wavered.

"So, that's the way it'd gonna be, eh? You close ranks with the sumbitches who left me to die on that roof! You're a bigger pussy then I thought." "That's enough out of you, you backwoods sumbitch." Charlotte said as she stepped forward, her pistols trained on him, Daryl noticed her hands were quivering with rage. Merle's worn face upturned into a grotesque smile.

"Well… looky here who it is! The bitch who tried to cut my balls off, but I got you back, tho didn't I? what is it they say in the bible, an eye for an eye?" He sneered. "Shut your fucking mouth before I blow it off." She said. "Why's it everyone else has the heavy shit 'cept you? Oh… that's right, you can't shoot a rifle no more!" He sneered at her.

"You did this to her?" Daryl said, his voice deadly calm. "Serves her right, she tried to snip me like a dog!" "You were raping my sister!" Charlotte bellowed as she cocked her pistols, Daryl pulled the hammer on his rifle & stepped forward, his bright blue eyes ablaze with anger. Merle looked from Daryl to Charlotte as a look of understanding crossed his face.

"Well, I'll be, lil Darylina gone found himself a girlfriend. Couldn't find nothin' better, could ya?" he sneered. "Ya coulda broke into the sex store in Atlanta, stole yourself a blow up doll & it woulda been an improvement over this ugly bitch, she's damaged goods, lil brother!" Daryl stepped forward & pointed the mouth of his rifle in Merle's face.

"One more word outta you & I'll blow your fucking head off." He said. "Oh, I don't think you'll be doin, that." He said as he motioned behind him, a small army of what looked like thirty or so men poured from the tree line, armed with machine guns & M-16's.

"Oh… shit." Maggie said as they peered through the window. "Get ready to take them out if things go south." Andrea replied as they locked & loaded. "We're outnumbered two to one, even if we managed to take a few of them out, the others on the ground wouldn't stand a chance." Hershel said. "Shit!" Andrea cursed in reply, they were in trouble, big trouble & it was going to get worse if they didn't think of something soon.


	14. Chapter 14: Battle for the Prison

**The walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 14: The battle for the prison.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create!**

_Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, followed & faved, you know who you are & it mean so much to me, I love getting those lil emails saying someone had reviewed &/or is following &/or has faved it, thanks : )_

The day was ending & the standoff continued, neither side willing to engage, nor back down. "Hey… walker herd at twelve o' clock. A big one." Maggie said as she looked through her rifle scope. "Maybe we can use them to our advantage, looks like they're heading this way. Let's hope Rick can stall long enough for them to get close enough to hear the gunfire." Hershel said.

"You know, I don't know what we're standin' here chattin' fer. There's thirty of us & only ten o' ya'll. Yer out gunned & out manned." "No one has to die here today, Merle. Not if you just turn around & take your men back the way you came." Rick said, Merle's loud laughter echoed across the forest. Through their scopes, the survivors upstairs could see the herd perk up & pick up speed.

"This prison is ours, we spilt blood!" Rick said, over the heads of the armed men, Charlotte caught sight of the first walkers breaking the tree line. Suddenly, shots rang out & Merle's men began dropping like stones.

Amidst the chaos, the survivors dove for cover behind the overturned vehicles & the guard towers. Merle & his men fell back as they returned fire … right into the arms of the advancing walker herd. "Oh… shit!" Merle said as he made a hasty retreat.

"Give me your rifle." She said to Glenn as she grabbed it from him without waiting for an answer. Merle cursed & let out a bellow as the bullet ripped through his right butt cheek.

"How's that for no aim, you fucking bastard!" She yelled as she took aim at his head this time, adrenaline coursed through her, she wanted him to feel just as much pain as she had felt before she killed him. Suddenly white hot pain ripped through her lower chest area. Astonished, she looked down to see her dark blood staining her white shirt. "Oh… _damn_…" she said as she collapsed.

"Set her down in here." Hershel said as he limped over to her bedside, leaning heavily on his crutch. Charlotte made a gurgling sound in her throat as she coughed up blood. "The bullet's pierced her lung, even if I could fix it, I'd need to put her under & for that I'd need a respirator." Hershel said.

"What d' you mean?! You can't jus let her die!" Daryl bellowed as he took up pacing around the room, his hands gripping the sides of his head. "Wait… this place has an infirmary, doesn't it? that's bound to have everything we need." Glenn interjected. "I'll go with you." Rick said.

"She's too serious for that, we need to somehow get her to the infirmary. Carol, you're going to need to come with me." Hershel said. "The tunnels, they lead there. We can take you." Axel said. "Put a sheet over that gurney & get her on it, we have to hurry, we don't have much time." Hershel said.

"Daryl, hold this towel here & keep the pressure on, we have to stop her from losing so much blood." Hershel said as he limped alongside the gurney. 'How much further?" Rick asked Axel. "Just up this way." He said as they rounded a bend & came to the pair of large metal doors, they were unmarked. "You'd better be sure about this." Daryl said dangerously.

"Glenn, Oscar & Tiny you come with me, we'll go in first, we'll signal you once it's clear." He said. "Hang in there, pirate girl, we're almost there." Daryl said as they waited for what seemed like a fortnight until Rick & the others reemerged, giving the all clear.

Once they were inside the infirmary, Carol sprang into action, grabbing a mask, an intubate machine while the men grabbed the oxygen & anesthetic. With expert hands, Hershel did the tracheotomy & attached it to the mask. "Here goes nothing." He said as he started administering the anesthetic.

* * *

"We have to ready a bed for when she comes back." Maggie said as she & Lori started stripping the sheets off one of the vacant cells & put fresh ones on. "IF she comes back, you mean." Beth said, Maggie shot her a hard look. "_When_." She replied. "Maggie!" Lori's frightened voice came as she suddenly she froze & looked down at herself, her jeans were soaked as was the floor under her. "Oh my god!" Maggie said as she ran to her.

* * *

"She's lucky, the bullet only went through her lung & a couple of ribs, it went clean through." Hershel said as he wiped the sweat from his brow on the shoulder of his shirt. "You call that lucky?" Daryl said. "An inch downward & it would have eviscerated her liver, she wouldn't have even made it inside. So yes, I consider that lucky." He retorted.

* * *

"Help me get her to the bed." Maggie said as she & Beth put their arms around Lori. "I'm going to have to take your jeans off." Maggie said, Lori nodded to her as the pain of a contraction gripped her, they were coming fast… too fast. "Something's wrong!" Lori said, her eyes wild with terror as Beth held her hand. "Shit the baby's comin' fast. Try not to push, Lori. I think… I think the cord's wrapped around its neck!" she said as she struggled to untwist it.

"I can't … I have to push!" Lori cried, tears streaming down her face as she gritted her teeth & bore down. Sure enough, the cord has been around the infant's neck… & she wasn't breathing. Maggie, having delivered calves in her time on the farm, gave the infant mouth to mouth being very careful not to be too rough. "What's happening!" Lori said, tears streaming down her face. "Baby's not breathing." Maggie said between breaths.

After five minutes of trying, it was clear that nothing was going to come of it. "What are you doing! Don't stop, keep trying!" Lori said as she gripped the side of the bed. "I'm sorry, Lori, it's no use. I did everything I could. She… just lost too much air during the birth." She said, tears streaming down her face. Lori broke into sobs as Beth held her.

* * *

Suddenly, the slam of a door was heard & Rick & the others reemerged, pushing the gurney with a still unconscious Charlotte. "Rick, I'm sorry. Lori went into labor … while you were gone … I tried to save … her but I …" Maggie trailed off as her tears overcame her.

The color drained from Rick's face as he looked from her to the stricken face of his wife. "Rick …!" Lori managed through her tears, Rick crossed the room in three steps & wrapped his strong arms around his wife. "I'm sorry, Lori sorry for everything. I tried, I did the best I could…" he trailed off as they cried together.

_Author's note: I am trying to go ahead of the new season since I don't know what's going to happen & I don't want to make it seem that I'm copying what happens for real LOL, I don't know, this is just what I think/want to happen, any similarities are unintended. Just saying._


	15. Chapter 15: From tragedy to recovery

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 15: Tragedy & Recovery**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create**

Rick & Lori stood in tearful silence in front of a small grave in the REC yard, arms around each other, Carl stood to their left, his hat clutched to his chest. "I'm sorry, Glenn I … its just …" Maggie trailed off as they watched them from the windows, Glenn pulled her into a hug. "Don't beat yourself up, Maggie, you did the best you could. you're not a doctor." Glenn said as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"How s' she?" Daryl said that evening, is had spent the day hunting out of necessity, but his mind just hadn't been into it, all he had managed to get was a bunch of squirrels & rabbits, which for him, was a walk in the park. There was bigger game in this neck of the woods, he just didn't have the current mental prowess to track it.

"Same as when you left this morning, son. You can't expect much in the way of change, I'm keeping her under sedation for the time being so her body can heal without working so hard." Hershel said. "Will she … will she make it?" He asked, almost choking on the words, terrified of what the answer might be.

Hershel's shoulders sagged. "I can't make any promises, but she _is_ a strong girl with a fighting spirit." Hershel said as he left them. Once he was gone, Daryl pulled up a chair to Charlotte's bed & sat there, his head in his hands.

He didn't know what he should do; he felt like yelling, cursing, & crying all at the same time. He just had so many … _feelings_ rolling around in him that he felt he might be sick. _'I feel like a fucking woman. Maybe I am a pussy.'_ He thought to himself, his nostrils flaring as he looked up at Charlotte.

God damned woman, she just _had_ to get under his skin, didn't she? & by the time he realized what was happening, she was already under too deep to dig out.

* * *

It was long after dark before the Grimes family reentered the prison, everyone remained silent & averted their eyes, unsure of what to say to them. Rick's eyes remained focused straight ahead as he led Lori to their cell.

Rick, Lori, Carl & Daryl were absent from breakfast & those that did manage to make it ate in silence. There was a lot to think about, & as their eyes met, they realized they were all thinking the same thing; whether to say … or leave.

Daryl awoke from a restless sleep in the bunk over Charlotte's bed feeling even more exhausted then when he had gone to bed. He noticed the plate of food sitting on the chair he used to keep his vigil & figured that he might feel better if he forced some food down his hatch.

Carol knocked tentatively at the corner of Lori & Rick's cell. "I … brought you some food." She said in a small voice once she saw they were awake. "Thank you, Carol." Rick said as he forced a smile, Lori however said nothing, she was laying on the bottom bunk, her back facing them. Carol set the tray down wordlessly & excused herself.

* * *

"What's up?" Michonne said as she joined Andrea up in the guard tower. "Just watching." Andrea said through her binoculars. A few stragglers from the herd that moved through yesterday were still hanging around, milling to & fro along the fences.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm kind of glad they're here. It makes it less likely for anyone to ambush us with a herd in the area." Michonne nodded wordlessly as she settled in the seat next to her.

"What r' you givin' her?" Daryl asked as he leaned against the cell wall, his eyes full of suspicion. "The reversal to the sedative." Hershel said without looking up as he pierced Charlotte's IV with the needle & injected the clear liquid.

"I know its hard, I remember when Josephine got sick, it was hard for me to watch what the Doctors had to do, even though understood for the most part what was going on from a medical standpoint, it was still hard. She should be awake in about an hour." He said as he left them again.

Daryl's heart began to race as Charlotte began to stir. "My patch …" she slurred as her hand flew to her vacant, scarred eye, Daryl caught her hand & gently brought it down. "Ya don' need it." "How many people saw …" "It don' matter! All they were worried bout' was savin' your life!" He said., still holding on to her hands.

She snorted. "Merle was right … bout me being damaged goods." She said, Daryl shook his head vigorously as he gently traced the line of the thick scar with his thumb. "Yer a lotta things, pirate girl, but damaged ain't one of em." Charlotte smiled weakly. "Yeah but I showed his dumb ass, didn't I?" She said, he chuckled. "Sure as hell did."

* * *

In the coming months, everyone healed, Lori was coherent once more & talking, Charlotte was getting around with ease again, though she still wasn't cleared for missions by Hershel yet, which meant she spent most of her time in the guard tower on watch, something she insisted upon to occupy her mind.

"There you go, Doc, all finished." Charlotte said proudly as she presented Hershel with an honest to goodness peg leg, made from the leg of a table & the foot of a cane. She had used one of her old belts that was now too big for her as the adjustment strap & she had lined the inside with blanket fleece & foam from one of the pillows for padding. "Try it out." She said.

"I thank you kindly, darling." He said as he tried his hand at walking around the cellblock using a cane. "Now you won't need that cumbersome crutch anymore." She said proudly as he gave her a hug. "I can't thank you enough." "It's the least I can do, for saving my life." She replied.

"Hey, Daryl." Charlotte said as she angled her good eye towards him as he ascended the remainder of the way up the latter into the guard tower & came to stand beside her, her gaze was casted out over the landscape, the rifle was on the desk counter in front of her, loaded & ready … just in case.

"So … Merle's your brother, eh?" She said, Daryl merely nodded. "Ain't that a bitch." She said. "It ain't his fault he grew up that way, it was our old man. He was a sorry sumbitch. Our mother died when we were really young." "My parents weren't around either, & you don't see me trying to rape people & hacking their eyes out." She replied expressionlessly, Daryl rounded on her.

"What do you want me to say!? I ain't gonna defend what he does but it don't change the fact that he's my brother!" he said, the anger rising in him. "Hmmm." Was all she said in reply, Daryl brought his fists down on the counter with such force that the rifle jumped. "God damn you fucking women, ya'll drive me crazy!" he said as he ran his hand jerkily through his long, messy hair.

Her hand on his stopped him in his tracks & his heart suddenly came to reside in his throat, part of him hated that, with just a simple touch she could render him speechless. In one swift movement, he gripped her by the shoulders & turned her to face him. She looked into his eyes, they were dark with desire, & his nostrils flared.

"Daryl…" she didn't get to say anymore because in one swift motion, Daryl's hand slid behind her head & he pulled her into a rough, passionate kiss.


	16. Chapter 16: Love in a Dead World

**The walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 16: Love in a Dead world**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create!**

Things quickly became very heated between them as Charlotte slipped her small, dainty hands under Daryl's shirt, the roughness of her callouses sent shivers of desire down is spine as he nipped & kissed her neck, desperately pulling at the collar of her shirt.

His hand accidently bumped her injury & she jumped back, giving a sharp hiss of pain. "We can't do this." He said as he pulled away from her. "We can if we're gentle." She replied as she reached for him, he stepped back from her. "I … don' think I can be … gentle." He admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. She stepped close to him again.

"Please… I need this." She said as she caressed his chest, exiting a groan from him. He leaned forward & claimed her mouth once more; she pushed him back against the counter as they desperately tugged at each other's shirts.

He let out an aroused sigh at the sight of her bare breasts & he groaned as she rubbed herself against him. He undid her belt hurriedly; he was now a total slave to his desires & wanted nothing more than to bask in the beauty of her nakedness.

"Oh … god …" she purred into his ear as he nipped, licked & sucked every inch of skin he could get his mouth on, his hands seemed to take on a mind of their own as the roved over her lean, sculpted body. She braced herself against the edge of the counter & he brought her legs around his waist. They both gasped as he entered her & in no time he was thrusting into her with an animalistic, reckless abandon.

She arched her back & buried her face into his neck, flooded with too much bliss to even cry out as the coil of tension that had been wound too tightly for so long within both of them finally released. He braced his hands on the counter behind them & she collapsed against him as their orgasms ebbed away, leaving them feeling suddenly weak & light headed.

After a moment of composition, he slowly let her down on unsteady legs & she slowly bent down for her jeans, trying unsuccessfully to hide her grimace, noticing this, he handed them to her. "We shouldn't've fucked." He said. "You didn't enjoy it? That's not the vibe I got, I'm going to have to wear turtlenecks for a week after this." She quipped. "No! I meant, cause of yer side." He said, nodding to her bandages.

"This? Shit, man my eye hurts me more on a bad day." She said with a smile as she drew close to him again. "You just wait'll I'm healthy again, then I'll _really_ take you round the world." She said as she ran her hands slowly through his long hair & nibbled his ear. He groaned as he screwed his eyes shut & tilted his head back, another full blown erection throbbing against his jeans.

"It looks like part of you is sayin' he's up for round two." She said as she rubbed her thigh against crotch, exiting another growl from deep within his throat. He kissed her hungrily & things threatened to get out of control once again until he felt her grimace against his mouth, he pulled away from her. "Later, when you're well." He said with reluctant finality. "Fine." She pouted as she crossed her arms in front of her.

He stepped beside her & wrapped his arms around her shoulders, careful not to become ensnared by his lust once more. He buried his face in her short wild hair & breathed deep.

She always smelled like lavender & a hint of vanilla, no matter how long she went between showers. His eyes fluttered shut as he lost himself in her unique scent. "Like I said, pirate girl, you're not damaged goods, far from it." he said, his voice muffled against the top of her head.

* * *

"Ah, son of a bitch! What r' ya doin, back there, doc, carving my ass up like a thanksgiving turkey?" Merle said as he gripped the sides of the gurney painfully. "You're the one who said they didn't need any pain medication." The doc said expressionlessly as he held up the bullet.

"Got it! damn, it was in there, deep. You're lucky it just embedded in the soft tissue & didn't rip right through you." Merle gritted his teeth. "Stupid one-eyed bitch, her & my fucking pansy ass brother are gonna pay, mark my words." He said as Phillip walked in.

"Ain't you ever heard of knockin?" Merle said as he covered his lower half with the sheet. "I'm curious as to how a group of mostly woman & children could get the better of thirty of my best men." Phillip said, his tone nonchalant. "Shit, it wasn't our fault, boss. A herd o' walkers showed up & everything went to hell." Merle replied.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." Phillip said, Merle's eyes narrowed at the governor, he didn't like his tone. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?" He retorted, Phillip shrugged. "Don't let it happen again & you wont have to find out." He said as he turned to leave.

"You can't threaten me, man. I've been 'round, I've killed guys badder n' you." Merle said, a dangerous glint in his eye, suddenly, Phillip rounded on him, he drew his pistol with deadly quickness & had it pressing against Merle's temple before Merle could even react.

* * *

"Oh… I don't think you know just how bad I can really be, Merle. I don't think you want to find out. You have one… more… chance to take back what's mine, or I'll put someone in charge that will." He said as he jabbed the mouth of his pistol into Merle's temple with every syllable for emphasis.

"That's good, girls. Ya'll are naturals at this." Hershel said as he oversaw Carol, Beth, & Charlotte trying their hand at gardening. "With some luck we might have a good crop of assorted vegetables & melons. "We're going to have to send a team out to build an irrigation system from the creek." Charlotte said. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about that for a while." Hershel said as a thunder rumbled in the distance.

"What we really need to do is figure out a way to use the gates to this place, because all this goin' in & out of that fucking hole is gonna attract walkers, & sooner or later they're bound to figure out how to get through." Daryl said. "Not to mention the living, breathing threats too." Charlotte added.

"Charlotte, you have knowledge of mechanics, why don't you take a look at those gates & see if you can rig something up? Take Glenn with you, he's been kind of our resident mechanic since Dale passed away." Rick said. "Oh I don't know…" Glenn started. "I'll go with er'." Daryl said with a finality, that no one questioned, Rick nodded to him, a knowing smile on his face.


	17. Chapter 17: No More Free Rides

**The walking Dead Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 17: **

**Disclaimer: don't own nothing that ain't mine.**

_Author's note: wow guys sorry for the long delay in updating! I'm very sorry, I have had a sick relative & other personal problems & such. Also, I am writing "Phillip" & "The Governor" as the same guy since in all the research I have done online, that's what I see next to the actor's pic. Sorry if its confusing or wrong. Also thanks to everyone who faved & followed, you know who you are & I really appreciate it : )_

Charlotte uttered a very unladylike expletive under her breath that made Daryl chuckle. "What was that, Miss Congenality?" He said jokingly, her good eye shot up to give him a playfully condescending glance but she said nothing as she tossed her now broken screw driver aside.

"These sumbitches, they're stuck fast, I don't know if I can fix em' without breaking them." she said. "So?" "So… if I break em' we might not be able to get them closed again. Right now not even the Incredible Hulk could pry them apart. Get Glenn… I need a geek's opinion.

"You called?" Glenn said as he breathlessly jogged up to the pair. "We need a geek." Daryl said bluntly, Glenn cleared his throat & turned very red. "What he means is I need someone with technical knowledge." Charlotte said as she jabbed Daryl painfully in the side.

Glenn rubbed the sweat off his forehead as he studied the gates for some time before he spoke. "I don't see any way around disabling the electric mechanism." He said as he swept his cap off his head & wiped his forehead with his sleeve. Charlotte cursed. "That's what I was afraid of, but I guess that's what we're gonna have to do before I can fix em again."

"Before I do this, we're gonna need a chain & hooks to secure these because once I dismantle the opening mechanism, there's gonna be nothing holding these things closed." Charlotte said. "I'll look for one." A small voice said, she turned to see Carl standing beside Glenn.

Charlotte smiled. "If you could find the infirmary, you can find some usable chain, kid. Have at it, just be safe & watch your back. Remember, unless you see a head wound, assume they ain't dead." Carl nodded & was gone in a flash.

"Lori ain't gonna be too happy you sent her boy off on a wild goose chase." Daryl said. "Let me handle that, the boy's at the age where he needs to feel like he's useful. He'll be alright, you've seen him, he's a hell of a shot. Maybe better n' you … kidding! I was only kidding!" She said as Daryl shot her a punitive glance.

An hour passed before a breathless Carl trotted up & proudly handed her a huge link of chain with a lock. "That's good, boy but we don't have the key to…" Daryl trailed off as the boy triumphantly produced a key from his grungy pants pocket. "Great job, little man. Your father would be proud." Charlotte said as she chained the gates before beginning work on the operating mechanism.

"Is there anything else I can do to help?" Charlotte formed the word 'No' on her lips, but the boy's expression made her change her mind, he wanted so much to be needed it was painful. "Sure, take these & get to work on the other side." She replied as she shoved her bag of tools at him with a wink.

"Carl? Where have you been?" Lori said as Charlotte, Daryl & Carl walked in at almost dark, Daryl made a quick exit, hinting that she was on her own here. "Carl was helping me with the gates out front he's quite gifted at mechanics." She said as she tipped the hat playfully down on Carl's head as Carl made a hasty exit, not waiting to be part of the impending conversation.

"Glenn mentioned that you sent him out on a wild goose chase?" Lori said, her hands on her once again, trim waist. "I wouldn't necessarily call it that, that term implies the person doesn't know there they are going or what they are looking for, which as far as I can see doesn't apply to your son." Charlotte said as she placed her hands on her own waist & stood squarely facing Lori.

"Don't come near my son again." Lori said dangerously, Charlotte chuckled at this as her gaze dropped nonchalantly to the ground between them for a moment before shooting back up to meet Lori's. "You better watch what you say, bitch, you don't have a pregnancy get out of jail free card anymore when it comes to confrontations." Charlotte replied, her tone equally dangerous.

With surprising quickness, Lori reared her hand back & slapped Charlotte across the face with all the strength she could muster. With a animalistic roar, Charlotte launched herself at Lori & a scuffle ensued. "Hey! What in the fuck is going on here?!" Rick said as he & Daryl broke the two seething women up.

"Bitch put her hands on me!" Charlotte said breathlessly as she wiped her bleeding mouth, Lori opened her mouth to explain but Rick held up his hand. "I know all about it, I sent Carl out there to help. Look Lori, this can't keep happening, Carl isn't going to have the childhood we had, he just isn't & this treating him like a stupid child shit has to stop."

Lori opened her mouth to protest but again, Rick cut her off. "Enough! You want me to talk, to stand up, to argue back well, this is how it's going to be; Carl has stepped up & become a valued member of the group, he's going to be helping on missions wherever he can. He has no choice, we need every man we can get." He said as he walked off, leaving the two women to it.

"You got a free shot that time, bitch, but touch me again & I'll kill you." Charlotte said as she turned on her heel & walked off.

* * *

"I've been to that prison, if they can take control of that then they are a real threat to us, boss." Merle said to the Governor at dinner that night. "I don't see how we can, you saw what happened the last time we tried that shit, we lost ten of our men to walkers." The Governor rubbed his chin thoughtfully as a dark smile came over his face. "Oh, I think I have a few ideas."


	18. Chapter 18: Walker Warfare

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 18: Walker Warfare**

**Disclaimer: Don't own nothing.**

"Wow, Charlotte, this looks great! Don't take this the wrong way but I never figured you to be the cooking type." T Dog said as she set their plates in front of them, he was a concoction of fresh vegetables from the garden with the rabbit Daryl killed the other day.

Charlotte laughed. "After our parents died it was me & my older brother caring for us, we took turns cooking, he was the real natural, it took me a little more time to get the hang of it but I learned eventually. After all that's happened, I'm sure glad that I did." She replied.

"Maybe tomorrow we can head out at dawn & get us a deer." Daryl said between bites. "I don't think so, I ain't no marksmen." She said. "You're better n' you think." Daryl replied, his eyes not leaving his plate. "Ok, as long as you don't think I will be a burden." She said unsurely, Daryl snorted. "You're sure as hell not a burden, pirate girl." He replied, his piercing blue eyes eying her so intently that she felt a blush creeping up her cheeks,

"Bout time you showed up." Daryl spooked at Charlotte's sudden utterance from the shadows at the entrance to the cell block. "Surprising a man with a crossbow'll get you killed one day, you know that?" He said moodily, Charlotte shrugged. "I'll take my chances." She said as she flash him a cutesy smile, such a contrast on her battle-scared face & it made him blush in spite of himself.

They walked for a long time sans words, neither having the urge to break the comfortable silence between them until a rustle about five hundred yards to their left stopped them in their tracks. Daryl put his finger to his lips as he crept forward with Charlotte following close behind, in case it turned out to be a herd of walkers. She decided to let Daryl take down the prey since he had the quieter weapon.

As they peered through the foliage at whatever it was, Charlotte had to cover her mouth to stifle a sharp intake of breath. It was a gorgeous tom turkey in his prime, scratching around for acorns & insects. Daryl raised his crossbow & took aim, but stopped when he felt Charlotte's hand on his arm. He turned sharply to meet her "do we really have to?" gaze & grinned apologetically. She knew they had to do it, they had to eat, but the naturalist in her still to this day felt bad about killing such a stunning creature.

"I'm sorry, pirate girl but I had ta' shoot it. we need to eat." Daryl said gruffly as he pushed through the thickets ahead of Charlotte, who shrugged. "No worries, I understand, its just the naturalist in me, you know? Back in the world I was a big time tree hugger." She said with a laugh. All the sudden, Daryl put up his arm to stop her as they listened, sure enough, they heard the telltale grunts & groans. By the sound of them it was a large herd, moving straight for them. they frantically looked around for somewhere to hide & decided that a large oak tree with a large outlying branch was their only & best option.

Daryl boosted Charlotte up to the first limb & she turned to help him up just as the first of the herd stumbled through the thickets. "Keep climbin' up to that big branch." Daryl said, grunting with effort as he followed her up. Even in this dire situation, he still couldn't help admiring her small, toned, rock hard ass, flexing & bending as she climbed. He drew in a sharp breath against the sudden flood of desire through his body as his grip tightened on the branch he was holding onto.

"You ok?" She said as she looked down between her legs at him. Just _go_!" he said through gritted teeth. "Aw … _fuck_!" Charlotte said as she reached a limb thick enough for the both of them. It was a herd all right … a huge one, thousands of walkers descended on their tree, like ants drawn to a piece of fallen food. "Looks like we're going to be up here for a while." Daryl said. "we'll take turns sleepin' so neither of us slips off." He added. "I'll take first watch, I don't sleep anyway & you look pretty tired." She said, to her surprise, Daryl didn't object & settled against the trunk of the tree for a nap.

"Come in." Phillip replied to the knock at his door, Merle cleared his throat nervously as he entered. "You said you had an idea about how to take back what is ours?" "Well… me & the boys we were thinkin' since they used walkers against us, why can't we?" Merle said, Phillip looked intrigued & motioned for him to continue.

"I say we sneak on the woods side, where visability isn't as good, cut a hole in the fence & sit back & let the walkers do the rest." Merle said. "How are you so sure they will find the hole?" Merle flashed an evil smile as he held up a belt of freshly killed woodland creatures. "With the right bait, they will."

"Hey." Rick spooked at the sudden utterance behind him as he whirled around, his hand reflexively going to his weapon, Andrea put her free hand up in mock surrender. "Easy, officer, I come in peace, bringing coffee." She said as she handed him a steaming cup, Rick gave her an apologetic smile as he graciously accepted the steaming mug.

"Been up all night?" "Daryl & Charlotte didn't come back last night, they didn't come back the night before either." He said as he took a deep sip from the mug. "I'm not worried, this is Daryl we're talking about, Daryl & Charlotte. They are quite capable of taking care of themselves." "It's not the walkers I worry about, it's the other scum lurking around out there." Rick said, Andrea opened her mouth to reply, when a screams & shouts from the REC yard reached their ears.

Daryl & Charlotte watched, perplexed as the walkers all turned to one direction & sniffed the air, like dogs & slowly about-faced in the direction of the prison. Daryl & Charlotte both shared the same look of worry as the dread grew within them, something was very wrong, they had to get back to the prison before it was too late.

_Author's Note: I'm sorry for the long update, I have been helping OH with his work & that has kept me super busy. Thanks for everyone who has stuck around._


	19. Chapter 19: The Price the Savior Pays

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 19: Title pending**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own anything :/**

Rick, Andrea & the others ran out to see Carl, Maggie, Glen, Beth, Hershel, & Carol doing their best to fight off an ever thickening herd of walkers. "We have to find out where they are getting in at! There must be a hole in the fence somewhere! Follow me! Don't use your weapons unless you absolutely have to! The sound will just draw more in!" Rick bellowed as he motioned for the others to follow him.

They rounded the corner to where the forest backed up against the prison & found a large, gaping hole in the fence about three feet wide, the fence was cut clean through. "I got the shot, Boss." Merle's young partner said excitedly as he watched Rick's head through his scope. "Then what in the fuck are you waiting for? Take it!" Merle barked.

Just then, they heard the cock of a hammer behind them, they both turned around at the same time to see Charlotte pointing her twin colts at each of their heads, a huge, girlish smile on her face. "Aw sh…" Merle trailed off as she pulled the triggers.

In the distance, the group heard the gunshots, so did the walkers, with a groan, they turned around & headed out the way they had came; the group made quick work of the starving stragglers, a huge smile crossed Rick's face as he saw Daryl & Charlotte join them. "Can't leave you for even a day, can I?" Daryl said with a dry smile.

Once the walkers were dispatched, they quickly patched the hole in the fence. "Someone cut that fucking fence." Axel said at dinner that night. "I know, but I took care of them, you won't have to be worrying about them anymore." Charlotte said. "Who?" Rick asked as he looked between Daryl & Charlotte, confused at the sudden, indiscernible expression on Daryl's face.

"It was Merle & one of his henchmen, they had you in their rifle scope, so I killed them both, it was my gunshots you heard that made the walkers turn around. Look, Officer. I know your feelings about killing the living, but I had to. They would've killed you if I hadn't." She said as her gaze dropped, without warning, Daryl stood & left the table.

"You did what you had to." Rick said as he put his hand over hers. "You saved us all." Carol said breathlessly, Charlotte smiled emotionlessly, she had saved them, but at what cost? She had been over the events a thousand times since they occurred & she couldn't see any other way she could have done them differently, but… that didn't make Daryl any less angry with her, even before she did it, she knew he would be, she just hoped she could repair any damage that was done.

"Uh… Daryl… can I speak with you?" Charlotte said as she approached him in the REC yard after everyone had gone to bed. "There ain't nothin' to talk about." He said guardedly. "Daryl please, I had no choice, I had to do it!" "You could've told me, but no! Instead you just decided to handle it yourself!" He spat venomously.

"He was going to shoot Rick!" "Then just shoot him!" "Then Merle would've shot _me_!" "You DON'T KNOW THAT!" Daryl roared as he rushed into her face, his temper flaring, anger raging. He couldn't help it, he just felt so, betrayed. He too kept playing it over in his mind, how he looked around for her & how she had disappeared, like a cat in the night. As soon as he heard the shots he knew what she had done. He didn't know how, but he just knew.

Now his brother was dead, even though he was a sorry excuse for a human being, he was still his only beother & now he was dead. He didn't know if he was mad for that or that he didn't get the chance to kill him personally. "I didn't tell you because I … didn't think you could go through with what needed to be done." Charlotte said in one breath, as if she wanted to get her thoughts out before she could rethink saying them.

Daryl rounded on her. "You & me? We're done, you hear me?" Daryl said, his voice quiet with hatred as he pointed at her. Charlotte looked at him as her expression turned from confusion to hurt, & then melted into pained understanding as she backed wordlessly away from him & disappeared from his company like a ghost in the night.

"Has anyone seen Charlotte?" Rick asked. "She helped prepare breakfast & set the table, but I haven't seen her since. She insisted on eating her breakfast in the kitchen, silly girl." Carol said puzzlingly. "So you haven't seen her since?" Rick asked, Carol shook her head. "What? What are you lookin' at me for? I ain't her damn babysitter!" Daryl said as Rick's gaze turned to him. Rick, Carol & Andrea all looked at each other & worried looks if understanding were exchanged.

"All her stuff is gone." Carl said breathlessly as he returned from the cellblock, a worried look crossed Rick's haggard face. "We have to find her." Carl said as he turned toward the gate. "Stop!" Rick barked. "We can't go running after someone who chose to leave voluntarily, she is not lost, she chose to leave." "But…" "I know she was your friend, son, but you know the world we live in now, we just can't. I'm sorry." Through blurred vision, Carl nodded to his father.


	20. Chapter 20: Old friends, New Adventures

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 20: Old Friends, New Adventures**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.**

Charlotte didn't know how long she had been walking, but it was fixing to get dark, & she knew she needed to find somewhere to stay before she lost the sun. she was losing the light fast & she was starting to look for a hospitable tree limb when she came upon an old, worn mailbox.

After a journey that included hopping three fences, she came upon an old farmhouse that had seen its better days, the windows were boarded up, a twinge of empathy tugged at her spirit & what little bit of humanity was left inside it, it looked like whoever lived here tried to make their final stand. About five hundred yards from the main house were the remains of a burned out barn. Even from this distance she caught the acrid scent of seared flesh & all around, decayed remains of walkers littered the front yard.

It wasn't ideal, but she didn't have the luxury of being choosy, so she drew her machetes & cautiously ventured inside. The interior of the house wasn't as bad off as she thought it would be, aside from a lot of dust & peeling paint. She decided that the front sitting room would suffice for one night, with all the windows boarded up she felt relatively safe. After checking the rest of the house for supplies & walkers or, living people. She concluded she was alone, she set her stuff down beside the couch & popped down heavily, causing a plume of dust to rise into the still, humid Georgia summer air.

* * *

"Here." Daryl said curtly as he plopped two tom turkeys & about thirty squirrels in front of Carol, Andrea & Michonne before stalking off. "He's been spending an awful lot of time alone lately." Andrea said absentmindedly as she got to work plucking feathers. "He misses Charlotte, he just won't admit that he fucked up." Michonne said bluntly. Carol looked after Daryl worriedly for a moment before hurrying after him.

Daryl heaved a ragged sigh as he turned around to see Carol trotting up to him, slightly breathless. "What'd you want, woman?" He said curtly. "I want to know why you don't just admit that you screwed up & go looking for her." Carol said, her soft voice uncharacteristically firm, the unfamiliar tone seemed to surprise Daryl for a moment, before he sank back into his state of sullenness once more.

"Even if I did, you heard Rick, we can't waste no man power running after someone who stupidly left of their own choice in the first place." He said. "It wasn't entirely her choice to leave. Like it or not, you made a mistake, now be a man & fix it!" She said as Daryl opened his mouth to retort, she turned on her heel & left him to his thoughts.

* * *

Charlotte awoke to sunlight streaming through the small spaces in the boarded windows, outside she could hear birds singing & indiscernible woodland animals going about their business, as though the world never ended, she found it tragically amusing how the world & its twenty four hour cycle kept on, oblivious to the end of the human race. She reckoned that now was as good a time as any to make tracks … before the woods went silent, because silent woods equaled trouble.

She walked along, wishing she knew where the fuck she was going, she resolved to break into a filling station & try to find a state map, but first thing was first … she needed to find a vehicle but to do that she needed to get to a road, something she hated doing.

She drew her machetes as she came up on a large traffic snarl. She scanned the area & saw off in the distance, a nice something-or-other sedan that looked promising. She approached it, the door was ajar & her heart leapt a little as she saw the keys dangling in the ignition. She slid into the driver's seat, praying the former owner hadn't abandoned the car & left it to run out of fuel.

She cranked the key & the car started, then, suddenly she saw a flash of something in her rear view mirror, she bolted out of the driver's seat & whirled around, drawing her gun as she went. She came face to face with a man about her height. He looked to be in his mid-forties with waist length salt & pepper black hair & a beard that looked like it hadn't been shaven since this whole thing started. But it was his eyes, they were a shocking shade of yellowish hazel against his brown skin & there was a twinkle behind them that was oddly familiar.

"Who the fuck are you?" She said from behind her colt, "I could be asking you the same thing." He said with a raised eyebrow. "I asked first." She quipped. "Eddie, Eddie Dominguez." He said, Charlotte dropped her pistol in shock. "Eddie?! Holy shit! Is that really you? It's me, Charlotte!" She said, Eddie's face melted into a shocked, worried expression. "I know I look like hell, you don't have to tell me." She said, Eddie put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, I know pity was never your bag, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Charlotte shrugged. "You know what they say, whatever will be, will be & all that shit. So, where you headed?" Eddie shrugged. "Same place as everyone else I guess, nowhere & somewhere." He said with a laugh, Charlotte chuckled. "Want to come along?" "It'll be just like old times, baby." He said with a grin.

* * *

"You got a minute? I need to talk to you." Daryl said to Rick after dinner, Rick nodded as he motioned for them to take a walk. "Game's running low, man. All the big game's moving north, & we can't survive on squirrels forever." He said, Rick ran his hand frustratingly through his hair. "What do you suggest we do?" Daryl shrugged, "It's your call, but if it was me, I would cut my losses & move on." "We'll discuss it with everyone tomorrow."

"I thought you said this wasn't a democracy no more?" Daryl quipped, the ghost of a smile grazing his scruffy face. Rick chuckled. "It still is for some things."

* * *

"Wait … what are we stopping here for?" Eddie asked as they pulled into a grungy looking ice house. "I need to find a map, I don't want to happen on a big city my mistake, back me up?" Eddie grinned widely "You know it." He said as they drew their weapons & crept toward the front entrance.

The doors were automatic & no longer functioning, but a few jerks from Charlotte's crowbar had them open far enough for them to slip through. "You sure no one's going to steal our car?" Eddie said. "Charlotte produced the keys from her pocket. "I locked it." she said as they had a look around. "Ah, Cabron, vato!" Eddie said as he hopped the counter, his Spanish speaking roots by way of his Mexican mother filtering through as he spotted a treasure trove of cigarette cartons no one bothered with because they weren't essential for survival.

Suddenly, a groaning sound came from behind the counter & Eddie jumped back. "San Antonio!" He exclaimed as the walker he hadn't noticed reached for him, he aimed his gun at the creature but Charlotte got there first, dispatching the walker with a machete to the skull.

"Don't use your firearms unless you absolutely have to, the sound will bring em for miles." She said as she brandished her bloody machete at him, he made a disgusted face as bits of brain matter flecked off the blade. "Ten what the hell to you carry two for?" "It's for the living people, not the dead ones." She replied cryptically.

After pillaging the small station of all that they deemed worthy, they got the hell out of dodge. "Where are we headed?" "North, I've seen those things in the winter time, I think its our best bet." She said.

* * *

Everyone gathered at the dinner table with bated breath, whenever Rick called everyone together, the news was never good. "Daryl & I have been talking, & we have some bad news, the game is running out & its becoming harder for the hunting parties to find food. I know many of you like it here, but we might have to start thinking about moving on soon.

"But … what about dad! He won't be able to keep up!" Beth said. "Now, don't count me out get, baby girl. This prosthetic leg Carl made me if mighty fine indeed." He said, Rick nodded. "That's also something we need to think about, that we have members of this group who can't get along as well as the rest of us. If we do decide to leave, we will have to make a plan, it can't be just a spur of the moment thing anymore. We'll have to make a plan."

Everyone looked to one another, unsure of what to say. "Well?! You heard the man, don't just sit there, start thinkin'!" Daryl barked. "Well… we have the cars, so its not like we have to walk. Hershel still has his right foot, he could drive when we have to stop for supplies." Carl offered, Rick smiled. "Sounds good to me. Carol, Andrea & Michonne, start gathering any supplies we can, Daryl & I will clean out the armory with as much ammo as we can carry. As soon as we get everything together & make a plan, we'll leave."

"Soon we'll be on the road again." Andrea said as she & Michonne kept watch together. "Good, I don't like staying in one place too long anyway." She replied. "So what do you think it is? Are we living to die or dying to live?" "Both." Michonne replied.


	21. Chapter 21: On the Road Again

The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel Chapter 21

Disclaimer: don't own nothing

"This trip's going to be a doozy, I hope we can make it. We might have to steal a few cars along the way if we cant find fuel." Charlotte said as she ran her hand through her spiked hair as they studied a highway map of the united states.

"With you heading us up, we'll make it." Eddie said as he flashed her a charming smile, she raised her eyebrow at him. "The first Wal-Mart we come across, I'm going to see about finding you a razor." "What, you don't like my new style?" He said as he stroked his beard, she made a face. "No, I don't."

* * *

"Is everything packed?" Rick asked as he walked up to Michonne, Andrea & Carol, they all nodded as Sophia sat quietly in the back of the Tucson. "She's been missing Charlotte something awful, they had a special bond, those two." Carol said sadly, Rick gave a somber nod as Carl came to join him.

"Ready, Dad?" "Is your group ready to shove off?" Carl nodded. "Then lets get this show on the road, we're burning daylight,

* * *

"Well? Do you approve?" Eddie asked as he walked out of the Wal-Mart somewhere in North Georgia, Charlotte beamed at him. "Never better, now I can see that its really you under there & not some stranger." She laughed as they got back into the car.

"If we don't have to take any detours, we should get out of Georgia before dark." She said. "You think that's wise?" Charlotte stopped for a minute & thought it through, before coming to the conclusion that it was not, very smart. "Ok, you win, we'll look for somewhere to crash." She said, unable to hide the frustration from her voice. She wanted so desperately to leave Georgia & everything it stood for in her mind … behind.

* * *

"Dad, its getting dark, we'd better stop." Carl said, Rick smiled down at his son. "I think you're right, he said as they came upon a small ice house, but it was just large enough to fit all of them. "Maybe they have supplies." Andrea said as they cautiously approached with both walker & human weapons at the ready.

Daryl entered first, opting this time for two large bowing knives over his crossbow, which would have been quite cumbersome in the close quarters of the ice house. An acrid smell filled the air, it was the smell of rotting flesh, they readied their weapons, the old feeling of surging adrenaline surging through all of them.

In the fading light of day they came upon a downed walker with his skull almost split in half. "Someone carved him up good." Michonne said. "It was Charlotte." Daryl said expressionlessly. "How do you know?" Carol asked.

"That wound? A machete did that, & see, in his hand? It's a piece of the shirt she was wearing, he must have grabbed her while she was putting him down." He said, the worry evident in his face, he hoped the bastard didn't get her. the call had to be pretty close if the son of a bitch got close enough to rip a piece of her clothing off.

Daryl sniffed angrily as he stalked off to look for supplies, he didn't know why he still cared, he hated that he did … but he couldn't help that he did & part of him wondered if she still did, too.

* * *

"What about this place?" Eddie said as he pointed to a small cabin sitting back in the woods. "Looks good to me." Charlotte said as they pulled their car around the back & parked it to allow for a quick exit but also so it wouldn't be visible to passers by.

After checking the place out, there was no usable food, but the place was walker & human free at least. "I'll sleep on the couch, you can take the back room, since I am a lighter sleeper then you. "Oh … Ok." He said in an attempt not to look disappointed, but she caught on. "what, were you hoping we could sleep together?" She quipped, his dark face suddenly gave off a red hue.

"Sorry, buddy, but someone has to keep watch & since I' am the insomniac, naturally it should be me." Eddie nodded in dejected understanding as he disappeared through the doorway.

_Suddenly, Charlotte was thrust into a thicket, which was forebodingly familiar. She felt an intense pain in the right side of her face, she reached up to touch it & came back with blood. Suddenly a hand jerked her forward & she was running, her sister hanging on to her hand, yanking her along over fallen logs & through thick brush._

_Her foot caught on an exposed root & down she went. "Come on! Move! You have to move! Char, please!" She pleaded, then before her eyes, her sister's face melted into Eddie's. Eddie … what was he doing here?"_

"Charlotte, wake up!" She bolted upright, machete at the ready, her pistol in the other. "Whoa, easy cabrona." He said as he cautiously placed his hand on her arms just above her elbows as she came fully back to her senses & quickly, as discretely as she could, pulled her eye patch back down over her eye. Thankful that it was likely too dark to see what lay beneath it anyway.

"Your shaking." He said as he gently squeezed her elbows, she smiled tragically at him. "Bad dream." "You were talking in your sleep, something about some guy named Earl… or something like that…" "Merle?" Charlotte said with a laugh.

"Yeah, that was it, is that who did this to you?" He said as his light hazel eyes, strangely visible even with no light to bounce off them darted to her patched eye. "Yes, he did." She said. "I'll kill that son of a bitch if I ever find him." Eddie said as he drew his knife.

"You're a little late … because I shot him." He was the brother of … someone in the group I was with, that's why I left, it got a little awkward to be there after you shoot someone's family, even though they were a rotten bastard. "So that's why you were going it alone with I found you."

"Before I met these people, I had been going it alone for a while, at least six months. I wasn't really good at … surviving when this thing started but I got good quick. Anyway, that's enough story time for one night, its late & we have a long day tomorrow, you'd better get some sleep." She said as she lied back against the musty couch. Eddie hesitated for a moment, but gave a nod & disappeared back into the bedroom.

Eddie sighed to himself as he tried to find a comfortable position on the lumpy, moldy bed; recalling how they had first met all those years ago.

Her brother had a motorcycle shop, he went in to have a look around & there she was. he was actually buying for his own brother's birthday, she rung him up. he never forgot her peircing blue eyes.

'_Memories of days gone by.'_ He thought to himself as his eyes drifted to the doorway into the living room, just barely visible in the darkness. But his feelings remained the same, they never left, they just got buried a little deeper with the events that had unfolded.

It wasn't catching up over drinks, but at least she was alive & relatively well, that in itself was a weight lifted off his shoulders.

_Author's note: Whew! I'm sorry for the delays guys, but I have a new job & you know how that goes, but I hope to keep the updates pretty regular._


	22. Chapter 22: Sayonara, Georgia

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 22: Sayonara, Georgia**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing I don't create.**

Charlotte gave a wave out the window of the truck as they crossed the state line out of Georgia. "You gonna miss it?" Eddie asked. "In another time, I would have said yes, Georgia's my home. But now? …" She trailed off without giving a real answer.

"That's how I feel about New Mexico, I mean… I miss some things, but they are from another time, not even relevant anymore… Shit!" He replied, as he rounded the corner, they came up on a huge traffic snarl coming into a small town, one of many, now without names; now they were just some place people _used_ to live.

"Any way around it?" Eddie asked, Charlotte didn't reply as she studied the map. "We could take this county road & see if we can bypass it." She said, pointing to a dirt road just ahead to the right, its dusty, faded sign read _'CO 115'_. Up ahead, she could see the silhouettes of a herd of walkers headed their way, attracted by the sound of their car's engine.

"Don't take em long anymore does it?" Charlotte said as they made a quick turn down 115. "Nope, it's like they are learning or something. You can't even pop a shot off anymore without em' coming for miles almost immediately." "Sometimes you can use that to your advantage if you're in a bind." Charlotte said.

"You know, I didn't really like society before this all happened, but now I downright hate to see the sight of another living person these days, I'm almost relieved when it's walkers, at least you know what they're going to do." Eddie said, Charlotte nodded soberly.

"Oh, there are some good people in this world, the group I was with, they were all right." "You're Lucky, all the people I have run into have not been the type I want to share a camp fire with." He replied. "Take a left here, according to this map, this road should intersect with the highway in a few miles." She said.

"I hope it's right." "It's gotten us this far hasn't it? I've gotten pretty good at reading a map again, I used to not even be able to find my way to my ass without GPS." She said as they shared the first true laugh either of them had had in a long time.

* * *

"Oh, shit!" Andrea said as Rick pulled to a stop in front of them, their expressions grew increasingly worried as the sheer number of the walkers around the traffic snarl grew apparent. Suddenly Daryl pulled up to Rick's window. "Follow me." He said as he sped down a dirt road to the right.

* * *

"Finally!" Charlotte said as they turned onto the highway, she had had enough of that horrible road in this rough, four wheel drive truck didn't make it any better. "We'll drive until we see a suitable place to bunk for the night." Eddie said.

They saw nothing in the barren, neglected farmland, the light started to fade fast & they started to worry that they might be spending the night in their truck. Just then, a large house loomed over the hill, they would have to cut a couple of fences to get to it.

"I'll do it, cover me." Charlotte said as she jumped out of the passenger side before the truck even stopped moving. Be careful, cabrona." Eddie said as she crept cautiously to the fence, a pair of wire cutters in hand, leaving the door to the truck slightly ajar just in case she got into trouble.

The dry, waist-high grass around them rippled in the mid-summer breeze, making a strange whispering noise, it dulled the senses & made it difficult to hear for any real threats.

She tried to block it out as she cut the last strand of wire & the fence sprung back. "Shit!" She cursed under her breath as the barbed wire gave her a nasty cut on her forearm.

"Babe, your bleeding!" Eddie said as she slid back into the truck, the front of her shirt stained with blood. "I've survived worse, just drive before we attracted any attention!" She said as she made a pressure bandage out of a couple of her bandanas to quell the bleeding.

As the last of the daylight abandoned them, the farm house rose above the grass like a large creature roused from its slumber. A gust of wind whipped the grass around them, they looked around, weapons drawn, no sign of walkers in sight & Charlotte was glad for that, because she was exhausted & her arm hurt like hell.

"Come on, lets clear the interior & get that arm fixed up." Eddie said as they crept inside, every sense heightened to the slightest noise. But the house was deadly silent & the silence was in a way, more unnerving then coming up on a walker.

The silence seemed to play with ones mind, it pressed against you, suffocated you, it echoed around in your head & every little noise you made seemed to be deafening. No sir, silence was indeed no longer golden.

They found all the doors except the one they had entered through to be boarded up tight, same went for the windows, even the ones on the upper floor. "I like this place all ready." Charlotte said with a grimace as a bolt of pain shot from her injured arm.

"Come on, lets see what we can do about that." He said as he led her to the bathroom. "Dude, I doubt there is anything usable left in this place, you saw how the door was kicked open, I'm sure everything worth anything has been stolen."

Eddie gave her a dejected look. "Who says I need the white man's medicine? I make my own, don't you remember?" He said as he dug into his pack & pulled out a drinking water bottle that was filled with a thick, sickly green liquid. He undid the bandage on her arm, held it over the sink & poured some over the wound.

He knew it burned like hell this stuff, but you would never know it by looking at Charlotte, who just watched the substance bubble & foam as it ate away at the dirt & germs without so much as a grimace.

She was tough, no doubt about that, she had been through so much since all this shit started. He wished he could make it all go away, but he knew that wasn't possible. Even if this were to end today the scars would always be there.

* * *

"What'd you think?" Daryl said as the group pulled up to an old farm house. "I think we don't have much of a choice, we've lost the light, its not safe to travel anymore." Rick said as he & Daryl exited their vehicle. It was times like this Daryl really missed his brother's bike. But it had finally given out on him & he had to write it off as a lost cause, another causality in this harsh world.

"Looks like the fence has been cut." Rick said as he inspected the severed strands of barbed wire, he panned his small flashlight around & discovered a fair amount off blood on the tall grass. Some of it was smeared on the fencepost as whoever it was peeled the fence back.

"Looks like someone cut themselves." Rick said, more to himself. "Come on, law man. I don't know what the fuck we're all standing around here for. I don't know about ya'll but I don't want to be walker bait!" Rick smirked. "Alright, alright. Lead the way, Daryl." He said with a chuckle.

Daryl hopped into the Tucson & they all followed, single file through the cut in the fence toward the house. "Oh, shit. We've got trouble. Someone's comin'." Eddie said, Charlotte drew her twin revolvers. "Well, lets welcome them, shall we?"


	23. Chapter 23: The Gang's all Here

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 23: The Gang's All Here**

_Author's Note: I know that a lot of readers have been wondering if I forgot Sophia because I wasn't mentioning her, I assure you that I didn't, there just wasn't a "place" for her to have a large part in the story, & since we all know she survived, I didn't really see a point in mentioning her over & over again just for the purpose of "Yep, she is still breathing". I wanted to do her better then that. But rest assured, she will have a larger part in the future of this story._

Eddie & Charlotte steeled themselves against the encroaching invaders, their pulses quickening as the headlights grew closer. Soon they were in the yard, she could hear talking, it was two men, one whose voice seemed familiar, like from a dream. Then it hit her … the voices were Rick's & Daryl's.

"Eddie, let them in." "What?!" Eddie hissed harshly, assured she had lost her fucking mind. Charlotte rolled her eyes as she reached for the door handle. "I _said_ let them in, these guys are friends, not foe." She insisted as she opened the door.

"I am sorry guys, but I already bought some candy from the last pair of boy scouts." She said humorously. "Charlotte!" Sophia said as she hit her with a forceful hug. "She's been missing you something terrible since you left." Carol said wispily as she walked up.

"We can shoot the breeze inside where it's safe." Charlotte said as she & Rick ushered everyone inside. "Everyone, this is Eddie. We've been friends for many years. He's my buddy." She said as they put their arms around each other.

Daryl took an immediate dislike to this guy, mostly because guys didn't have girl best friends unless they had an ulterior motive. & judging by the way this bastard's eyes lit up when he looked at Charlotte, he had a good suspicion what this guys' motive was.

"Looks like you cut yourself." Daryl said. "Yeah, but Eddie took care of it with some shit he made. "It's not _shit_… its medicine." He interjected dejectedly. "You indian?"Daryl asked rudely, Eddie smiled a smile that didn't reach his light eyes. "Half, my father was Mexican." He said as the two men sized each other up.

"Well, its nice to meet you, Eddie. We would be very interested in hearing more about your medicines later, but right now I think its best if everyone turn in." Rick interjected, breaking the tension.

"Can't sleep, baby girl?" Charlotte said as she became aware of a presence behind her." "How did you know it was me?" Sophia said. "I don't know, I guess its true that they say about when you lose a part of your body, it learns to compensate." She said with a shrug as the girl joined her on the couch.

"How's your momma been doing?" Sophia averted her eyes. "Not good, she gets tired a lot, she says she is fine but I don't think she is. She said as tears welled up in her eyes. " She's peobebly tired, darling. This life ain't been easy on anybody." Charlotte replied.

"Why don't you just admit you miss her & go on out there & talk to her?" Carol asked Daryl who stood, leaning on the door frame, hidden from Charlotte by the darkness, watching her talk with Sophia, a discernible expression on his handsome face.

"You make it sound so easy." He said with a snort. "You make it so _hard_." She quipped, Daryl rolled his eyes as he brushed passed her. "You can't ignore this forever, you know." She said to his retreating form.

She was right, he couldn't ignore this forever, but those names he called her … how the hell was he supposed to come back from that? He had no fucking idea, he had never apologized for anything in his life, besides she shot his only brother, & he wasn't ready to let that go … he didn't know if he ever could.

He ran his hand roughly over his face, everything in his life was just fine until _she_ had to show up. He didn't know what it was about her, but something snagged him, that was for sure. If Merle were here he could have called him a puss for wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Charlotte smiled down at the sleeping preteen on the couch & covered her with a blanket. "Can't sleep?" she turned to Eddie with a smile. "Same as always." She replied. "I couldn't sleep either, something about this world that makes sleep not a fun thing anymore." He said as he sat down next to her.

"You should get some sleep, we have a big day of traveling tomorrow." She said, he chuckled as he tossed his long hair behind his shoulders, she couldn't help but smile, she always liked it when he did that. Secretly, she had always found his long hair very sexy.

"I could say the same thing about you." She shrugged. "No use going to bed if I am just going to flop around all night, might as well make myself useful." "Oh I think flopping around can be very useful." He said with a suggestive wink, Charlotte couldn't help but laugh. "Down, boy." She said as she playfully pushed him.

"Seriously, though why did we never get together?" He asked, his tone turning somber, the mood between them quickly following. "Because, you are a dog & a player, I had feelings for you, but I didn't have the time or the energy for that kind of a man in my life romantically. I saw how you played girls."

"People change." He replied. "You changed because the world did." She said, her words hung in the air as the harsh nature of them was felt & she mentally grimaced as a look of hurt crossed Eddie's face.

After a moment, he stood, "Well, I guess I will take your advice turn in, I will probably have to do a fair share of driving tomorrow." He said, giving her a warm smile that didn't quite light up his eyes, she cursed under her breath, she had seriously hurt his feelings, she snorted at the tragedy of it, she had a knack for doing that lately. Maybe she was better off alone.


	24. Chapter 24: Divided Again

**The Walking Dead Guardian Angel **

**Chapter 24**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

"We need to find another RV." Charlotte said into the silence as they rode along, it was she, Eddie, Hershel, Beth, Carol & Sophia in the Tucson. Eddie was driving, Charlotte rode shotgun, the others were sardined in the back.

The next dealership we see, I am going to try to steal one. They usually keep the keys in a safe in the manager's office, I'll see if I can find them, because it will be a bitch to have to hotwire it every time we have to start it."

"That's strange, We haven't seen any walkers." Hershel said. "I don't know if that is a good thing or not." Charlotte said rhetorically as she studied the map. "We should be in Missouri by now, has anyone seen a sign?" "I don't think there are any signs anymore, but the compass says we are going northwest, that's the way we need to go."

"Look, I think we are coming into a town." Beth said as once fancy hotels, restaurants & business loomed into view against the dismal, cloudy sky. "I think this is Jefferson City, take the first exit." Charlotte said as they sailed smoothly off the vacant highway.

It was almost like the world never ended, not a car, or traffic snarl to be found, no walkers, nothing. "I don't like this, it's too quiet too ... _neat_." Eddie said as they kept their eyes peeled for both an RV dealership, or any threats.

"There!" Charlotte said as she pointed to a huge dealer at the end of the street, she couldn't believe their luck as they pulled in. The place was untouched, the RV's sat where their caretakers left them when they had fled.

She couldn't believe no one had tried to take them, but, she supposed that folks were more inclined to get the fuck out then acquiring a new motorhome. "Here, take one, channel four." Hershel said as he tossed them a two way radio.

"If anything happens, don't wait for us, just stay on the present course & we'll catch up when we can, the map's in the glove compartment, the route's marked." She said as they crept toward the main office, keeping low & quiet.

As they expected, the doors were locked, but a few yanks with the crowbar pried it open. There were a couple of salesmen-walkers, both of whom looked very emaciated, like they had been locked inside since this whole thing started. They disposed of them quickly & drug them outside, hoping their smell would detour any more from noticing them.

"Daryl, you take Eddie's place at the wheel of the Tucson." "What are you saying?" Daryl said, eying him suspiciously. "Just do it!" Rick barked, Daryl gave the group leader a frustrated look, but did as he was told.

"Ah, shit. Bet they're in there. That's probably why they haven't been taken yet." She said as she tapped a safe with her machete. "Can you break it?" "Maybe, but it'll make a lot of noise." "Do what you gotta do, cabrona. I'll cover you." Eddie said, his light hazel eyes twinkling.

Charlotte dug in her bag & pulled out a large hammer, the hinges on the safe were rusted, she was banking on the recent humidity making her job easier. The grimaced as she struck the first blow, the sound echoed all over the parking lot. But … she felt the aged metal give.

Undeterred now, a few more well placed blows & the first of the hinges gave way, the others came easier.

"What the fuck are they doing in there?" Daryl said as he fidgeted anxiously behind the wheel, Rick said nothing, his sharp eyes were on the horizon, a cloud of dust was billowing in the distance, something … or someone was coming, he prayed it was walkers.

"Ah, shit! I got it!" she said as the last hinge joint gave way. "I'm gonna need your help." She said. Positioning himself behind her, he wrapped his hands around the crowbar in front of hers. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't stop the wave of desire & need that suddenly washed over him.

"You know, if we were naked, this would be really fun." He said, his breath hot against her ear, he grinned to himself when he saw goose bumps erupt on her skin. "Just shut up & help me." She said, not able to hide her own grin as they both pulled back with all their might.

With a mighty crash that sent them both flailing backward, the door came loose. "Snap!" Charlotte said, she looked at Eddie & promptly blushed; suddenly aware that she had landed straddling Eddie's waist, she made to stand, but his hands at her hips stopped her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, his voice dripping with arousal & desire. "Ed, I don't think …" she was intrupted by a crackling on the radio. "Charlotte! Eddie! What in the hell are you doing in there! We got company!" Rick's voice came over the line.

Charlotte cursed as she looked out the windows at four vehicles approaching from the south … they didn't look friendly. "You guys go, leave us, we'll catch up with you, just stay in the course I mapped as much as you can, we'll find you."

"You heard her, lets go." "You guys go, I'm staying." Daryl said stubbornly. "Daryl I need you to help protect every one, this is non-negotiable, now _move_!" Rick ordered.

Daryl gave Rick a murderous look but did as he was told, inside the Tucson, no one dared utter a word as Daryl jammed the car in drive & hit the gas.


	25. Chapter 25: The New Recruit

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 25**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

Charlotte & Eddie ducked behind the counter as the three black SUV's careened around the corner after their group as they sped away, they drew their weapons as they heard gunfire exchanged.

"Oh, shit, we have to hide." Charlotte said as she looked around desperately for a way out, she knew that gunfire would bring walkers out in droves … & quick." They found a staircase that she assumed led to the break area, she prayed it wasn't locked, she didn't want to have to break the lock.

She tried the door … locked … fuck. "Give me your shirt." She ordered, in the seriousness of the situation, he forwent a stab at suggestive banter & simply gave it to her, she balled it over her fist & smashed the door's small window.

"Okay." She said as she reached around & unlocked the door. Once inside, she looked frantically around for something to cover the hole she made. Seeing nothing, they decided that a bookcase would have to do for now. She locked the door back & they moved it in front of the glassless window.

Years in this world taught them never to assume they were alone, so they made sure they were. As they checked the last room, they heard a rustling noise somewhere in the dark. They readied their weapons & steeled themselves as whatever it was came at them.

It was a dog, some kind of medium sized shepherd mix. He was terribly thin, probably the office dog that everyone forgot about when this all went down. "Hey fella, you hungry? Everyone forgot about you, huh?" She cooed as she reached into her bag & pulled out one of the cans of dog food she happened to pick up 'just in case'.

He gobbled half of it before she could even pour it onto the floor, he finished the rest in hast & jumped up to lick both of them out of gratitude. Then, suddenly, his ears perked up & he slinked under a nearby desk. Eddie & Charlotte took a peek out the window & cursed, a huge herd of walkers were milling around.

"Well, it looks like we're stuck here for a while." Eddie said, Charlotte nodded as she unhooked her weapon's belt & laid it on one of the desks as the abandoned dog silently entered the room & slinked under the desk.

"I think I'm going to call him Shadow." Charlotte said as she peeked under the desk at the matted, shaggy dog. the faint light from the summer sun reflected in his eyes, giving them a errie green glow. Because he slinks around so quiet, like a shadow." "I'm sure he learned quick that if you make noise … you die." Eddie said.

"Yeah but … walkers wouldn't eat a dog … would they?" Eddie looked at her for a long while before nodding slowly. "I guess you haven't been through any of the big cities … half eaten bodies of cats, horses … dogs. So yes, I would assume correctly that they would eat this guy."

Charlotte let out a low whistle. "They must be starving, running out of people to chow on, which explains why the ones we have run into are so emaciated & why they respond to sound faster than they used to … they're learning!" She said with a shudder.

* * *

"Did we lose them?!" Daryl bellowed. "She's bleeding out!" Hershel said, not hearing him as Beth helped him put pressure on the gunshot wound Carol had suffered in the shootout with the mysterious SUV's as Sophia sobbed into her hands.

"We have to stop." Hershel said, the look in his eyes said everything, she was gone & they knew what they had to do. they didn't want their loved one walking around as a souless, evil monster. "Daryl waved his hand out of the window at Rick's vehicle in front & they all pulled off to the side of the road.

Rick looked at Hershel & he shook his head, Daryl cursed & kicked the side of the Tucson. "Glen & Maggie, take Sophia to the suburban." Rick said as Carl drew his pistol & in once silenced shot, it was done.

"Let's go, before anything finds us." Rick said expressionlessly, they all knew better then to question him anymore, only Daryl lingered at Carol's body, his eyes stinging as he laid a single Cherokee rose on her chest.

* * *

"You know, i have an idea how we can pass the time." Charlotte said as she drew close to Eddie, her body, hard & lean from years in this harsh world pressing against his.

Eddie's hands balled into fists as he struggled vainly to control himself, but he couldn't help it, his body just responded to her. Charlotte snaked her hands around his neck & nuzzled the valley of his collarbone, making him shudder with desire.

He wanted her so badly, he always had, but back then he fucked up. He didn't make his actions back up the words he told her & he blew it; now there she was, wanting him, all he had to do is take her.

But ... the small voice that was his conscious poked him, _'this is wrong'_ it nagged him, his hands came to stop hers as they reached for his belt. "Charlotte, you know that I love you, I always have & I always will. I know I fucked up in the past, but that isn't the person I am now. Before we do this, I need to know something."

"Do you love _me_? I don't want just a fling, or a fuck buddy, I want to be your man, your one & _only_ man. If you can't do that, then me fucking you now would just make things worse for … for you ... & the man I know ... you really love."

He almost choked on the last sentence, he knew the truth, he knew that deep down she loved this other guy, & since _he_ loved _her_, he couldn't let her make this mistake. Not her, not after all the shit she had been through.

Charlotte stepped back & averted her eyes. "I can't. I can't say that I love you, not in the way you want me to. If we so this, it will just be a fuck buddy thing. I'm sorry." She said, with tears stinging his eyes, Eddie nodded in understanding.

"I will still be there for you in any way I can, I want you to know that." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. Through her tears, she nodded, cursing her stupid heart, her stupid feelings.

Eddie was the better man romantically speaking, a relationship with him would be as easy as breathing, she wanted so badly to love him … but she didn't & she knew it, & she hated herself for wanting to take advantage of that love he had for her just to get her rocks off. "I'm sorry." She whispered, he flashed her a grin. "Don't sweat it, cabrona. I've been through worse."

"I think we can make a go for one now, I don't see any more walkers." She said as she strapped her belt back on & they moved the bookcase out of the way. "Yeah, but they aren't marked, how in the fuck are we supposed to know which key goes to which RV?" Eddie said as he studied the huge ring of hundreds of keys.

Charlotte shrugged. "I guess we'll have to try one til we get a winner." She replied as the dog they called 'Shadow' came out from under the desk & waited with them at the door, wagging his tail. Charlotte laughed at the look on Eddie's face, he saw the doig as just another mouth to feed.

"You know we can't leave him here." she said, he rolled his eyes. "Let's go." he said as they slowly opened the door.

_Author's Note: Okay … I know that a lot of you like totally hate Eddie & I was going to go a different way with this story anyway but since I love my readers, I decided to revise it …._

_Your welcome. ^_~_


	26. Chapter 26: Flying Solo

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 26**

**Disclaimer: I no own … still :/**

Charlotte stood for a moment, ring of keys in hand, weighing her options, there were so many. She didn't want to steal something too cumbersome, so she made a break for the smaller class motorhomes.

"Charlotte, its not like we're shopping to buy here. Any make or model will do." Eddie said, slightly nervous as he scoured the horizon. "This one." She said as she started trying keys.

After what seemed like an eternity, she found the one that unlocked the door & they clamored in just as the black SUV's that had chased the other half of their group careened around the corner, the rubber from their tires melding into the aged asphalt.

"Oh … shit." Charlotte said as they shut & locked the door & dropped to their stomachs, Shadow hid under the table, no one had to tell him twice. Damn dog has more sense about living in this world than most people she had run across.

They slowly peeked over the edge of the window, they saw three men get out, Charlotte's blood ran cold in her veins, her hand reflexively coming to rest on the patch that covered her ruined eye.

"... They weren't with the other half of their group, they gotta be here somewhere, search til you find em! I ain't gonna have rats in my town." One of them said as they fanned out. Eddie took a deep breath as he checked the rounds in his pistols.

"Wait … what are you doing?! If they catch you, they'll kill you!" She said, her tone panicked as she gripped his arm, he put his hand over hers as he produced a key. "This goes to that street bike parked around the back of the showroom, I'll try to draw them away, you just get the fuck out of here. I will rendezvous with you when I can. Remember once the bullets start flying, you're going to have to be quick."

She nodded. "Just make sure you are, too." He flashed her a grin. "I'm always quick." He said & with a wink he slipped out the door. Using the large RV's as cover, she breathed a sigh of relief when he made it around the other side of the building, on her hands & knees, she slowly made her way to the drivers seat & put the key into the ignition.

Several rounds went off & three of the town group went down, dead before they hit the ground. They had learned very quickly that even when fighting living people, a headshot if you could get it was always the best choice. That way you didn't have to deal with them twice.

Eddie revved the throttle & sped off, that was her queue, she fired up the motorhome & made her break for it. "You! Follow that RV, the rest of you come with me!" The leader said.

"Fuck me." Charlotte said as she saw she had company … & he was gaining fast. She knew she would never out run him, her only hope was to use the RV's size to her advantage.

Like riders in a horse race they jockeyed for position, the SUV trying to pass, she tried to run him off the road. Then, she had another idea; she promptly hit the breaks, if she could get behind them long enough, she might be able to get a shot at their tires.

With surprising quickness for someone driving such a large vehicle, she was behind them in a flash. She took two shots & cursed as they pinged off the SUV's bumper. She ducked back inside as the passenger returned fire, his bullets piercing the windshield & embedding themselves in the rumble seat next to her.

Charlotte cursed again, she only had three rounds left, & she had to make them count. She steeled herself & fired out the window again. This time her aim was true, the SUV careened off the road as its rear tires exploded.

Charlotte put the petal down as she blew out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding & dug into her pocket. With a sigh of relief, she pulled out a small slip of paper that had the route they were supposed to take written down.

Now ... all she had to do was follow it.


	27. Chapter 27: All for one & One for All

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 27: The Endless Road Ahead**

**Disclaimer: I no own.**

Charlotte spooked out of shock as Shadow pushed his ice cold nose under her arm, this would make the third time she had dozed off behind the wheel, her eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each, she knew she couldn't drive much longer.

Shadow stared unblinkingly up at her, having one blue & one brown eye made his gaze all the more eerie. "Okay, okay! I'll find a place to stop!" she said in exasperation. But the problem was that they were in the middle of nowhere & there was nothing to be seen for miles.

Then she saw a small house off the side of the highway, if they could pull behind it they might have a chance. She coasted around the back side of the house as quietly as she could, she didn't see or hear anything & she wanted to keep it that way.

The back side of the house was quiet & it shielded them completely. "Wake me up if you hear anything." She told shadow as she lay down on the floor next to the drivers' seat in case she had to make a quick exit.

* * *

"Daryl, I'm sorry but we've been here for days, something's bound to find us if we stay here any longer. We have to move on, we can't wait any longer." Daryl looked like he was about to fall apart, & now that Carol, his voice of reason was gone, & everyone who mattered in his life was gone.

Rick blew out a heavy sigh. "Okay … we will wait here one more night, but no more than that … okay?" Relief washed over Daryl's face & he nodded.

* * *

Charlotte's eyes snapped open & her hand flew to her pistol at her side. It was dark, she had no idea what time it was & since it was a new moon that night, there was no way to tell. Outside she could hear nothing except the activities of the usual nocturnal animals & that was a good sign … it meant there were no walkers or humans nearby.

Charlotte was wide awake now … & she had a decision to make, should she stay til dawn or should she risk traveling the road at night? She lied back with her hands cupped behind her head, thinking.

Her intuition was nagging her to go, & in this world, she learned quickly that it always paid to trust ones intuition. So with one final look both ways, she pulled out onto the road & set off once more.

* * *

The group piled into their respective vehicles at first light & were off just as a large herd could be seen making their way towards them on the horizon. Daryl didn't want to admit it, but Rick had been right. but it didn't make it any easier.

The fortunate thing was they were able to stick to the planned route Charlotte had mapped out for them; he had to hand it to her she did one hell of a good job anticipating which roads would be travelable.

* * *

Day broke over the horizon as Charlotte passed through yet another now nameless town, disserted & dead, now a walker's habitat. It was clear now. The world, formally theirs, now belonged to the walking dead.

After negotiating her way through a small traffic snarl, it was clear sailing on the vacant, open highway. That was until the faint reflection of vehicles came into view in the distance, Charlotte drew her pistols as she came up on them.

"_Hey, we got company."_ Daryl's voice came over the frequency as he caught sight of the RV approaching them fast. Both he & Rick spooked as their radios crackled.

"_Well look who it is! The world gets smaller & smaller every day."_ Charlotte's drawl came over the radios. The passengers' faces in both vehicles lit up for the first time in days. Daryl couldn't stop a small smile from reaching his face as relief washed over him.

Once they found a safe place to stop for the night, they all rushed out to greet their returned group member. Charlotte was surprised at the reception she received. These people had missed her, worried about her & even risked their safety by staying at their rest stops as long as they could in order to give her as much time as they could to catch up.

"Boy, you're a sight for sore eyes." Glen said as he shook her hand heartily. "Glad to have you back, darlin'." Hershel said as he gave her a warm hug. "That was some kind of stunt you pulled, I have to say I am impressed. But from now on, no one separating, okay?" Rick said as he put a hand on her shoulder. Charlotte nodded in understanding.

* * *

"I'm sorry about your momma, girl." Charlotte said as she & Sophia sat around the dying campfire. Sophia said nothing for a good while as she wiped her tears away with her hand. "I want to be like you." She said finally.

"Come again?" Charlotte said, not quite understanding her. Sophia wiped the tears from her eyes angrily. "I'm tired of being scared all of the time, I want to be like Carl, like _you_." Charlotte nodded. "Okay, we'll start first thing tomorrow … but for now you need to get to bed, can't do much if you're tired as hell." Sophia nodded as she trotted towards the RV.

Daryl stood in the cover of the surrounding forest, watching their whole exchange. He was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming urge to talk with her, to somehow mend the rift between them… if he could.

She must've sensed his presence, for her hand reflexively went to her machete, always holstered at her side. At her feet, Shadow sat up & let out a soft growl. That told her that it wasn't a walker, he smiled as her hand switched to her pistol.

"Easy there, pirate girl, it's just me." He said as he as he joined her, they sat there for what seemed like a fortnight in silence, staring at the now dead fire. Charlotte felt she should say something, but she didn't know what she could say.

"Look Daryl, I know you blame me, but he was gonna kill Rick, maybe others. I had to do what I had to do. If that makes you hate me for it then … then so be it." She said as her gaze met his.

"That was my brother, you just dont get over that." He said, staring hard back into her eye. Charlotte shook her head as she quickly stood. Then there is nothing more we need to talk about, you obviously can't move past this."

As she turned to go, she felt his hand close tightly on her wrist. He pulled her back & wrapper her tightly in his arms. "I never said I wouldn't forgive you." He said, his voice suddenly heavy with desire.

"You drive me crazy, you know that?" he said, his eyes darkening as he buried his face in her neck, she was rendered speechless as goose bumps erupted all over her body. There was no doubt in her mind how she felt about him now. She waited for him to draw back before pulling him into a passionate kiss that lasted until their lungs screamed for air.

"I've missed you so much." She whispered, he said nothing, but his arms snaked under her legs. He swept her right off the ground & carried her to his campsite.


	28. Chapter 28: Trials of a Long Winter

**The Walking Dead Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 28: Trials of a Long Winter**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.**

Temperature wise the long winter had been tough, but in the long run it had made for easier progress. The walkers were in a kind of hibernated state & most of the ones they encountered hardly noticed them at all.

Rick, along with Andrea & Michonne had come up with an idea &, after it was voted on by the rest of the group they decided to change course for the California coast. After a journey that was almost too easy to be real, & as winter finally was forced to relinquish its grip on their part of the planet to spring, they stood overlooking the ruins of Las Vegas.

"The I-15 will take us straight to the coast, but … we would have to pass right through Las Vegas & several major cities in Cali." Charlotte said as they all gathered around the now faded & hard to read map.

"What about 15 the other way? The way it looks here, it intersects with 80 & that would take us right into San Fran by way of Sacramento." Daryl offered. "I think that's our best bet." Rick said, with no other differing opinions, the decision was made.

"If we're gonna make this trip, we have to refuel, & the best bet for that is on the Vegas strip. It's the one sure place we're going to find fuel & supplies." Michonne said. "Yeah there's a reason for that, Vegas is too damn dangerous, it's sure to be crawling with walkers." Andrea said.

"We & other groups of survivors have drained every small town around here dry over the winter, I hate to say it; but Vegas might be our best bet." Rick said as he ran his hand through his lengthening hair. "Then its settled then, at first light we hit Vegas." Charlotte said.

"Everyone stay close on the car in front of you, we want to be as discrete about this as possible." Rick's voice crackled over the radio frequency as they eased their way into the interior of the city.

Their jaws hung open in awe at the condition of the once shimmering jungle of neon, huge dunes of sand covered many of the casinos & hotels, half burying them. if one wasn't looking at a map, they wouldn't even be able to tell they had entered the once iconic city.

"They have valet parking at the casinos, there are gas pumps in there." Charlotte said, Andrea snorted from her spot in the rumble seat. "& how do you know that?" Charlotte grinned at her.

"Oh I've dropped my fair share of dime back in the day here." She said casually, Andrea chuckled & shook her head as they pulled up to the tunnels. "Well, let's get this over with." She said as they slowly drove in.

As they pulled up Charlotte grabbed the syphon hose as Rick, Daryl & Carl grabbed the gas cans from the back of the Tucson. "Carl, Sophia, you two look out for trouble." Charlotte said as she handed Carl a pair of binoculars.

The caps on the underground tanks came off painfully easy due to years of rust, Charlotte tossed another hose to Daryl & they began syphoning. Here came the part she hated … the waiting.

"We may not get them all filled, but fill as many as you can." Rick said, this was going too slow for his comfort, each second they spent down here heightened the risk of being discovered by walkers or … worse … living humans.

"Anything?" Rick hissed to Carl, who shook his head without taking his eyes out of the binoculars. Sophia stood, rifle at the ready, looking through the scope.

Since her mother's death, she had stuck to the commitment of no longer being a victim, someone that always had to be looked after. Like Carl she had become calloused, ruthless, & efficient. The only way to be in this cruel, harsh world.

"Mr. Grimes!" Sophia whispered, Rick took the binoculars from Carl & his blood ran cold. It was a herd, a huge one, by looks if it more than a thousand strong flooding through the entrance to the garage; they were blocked.

"Oh Christ! Everybody load up, we have to move …NOW!" "Come on, there's another entrance for the VIP's around back!" Charlotte said into her radio as she threw the RV in drive & took the lead.

There was a secondary entrance, but it was blocked by a security arm, Andrea erred on the side of caution & fastened her seat belt as Charlotte hit the gas. "Hang on to your asses." She said as she braced herself.

To their surprise the RV made quite an efficient battering ram & they were back on the open highway before they knew it. "Now all we have to do is drive til we hit San Fran." Charlotte said.

"How'd you know about that other way out?" Andrea asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt, Charlotte flashed her a shit eating grin. "I had a fling with one of the casino's high rollers." She said, Carl let out a snort, Andrea laughed as she shook her head.

"You're one crazy bitch, you know that?" "So I've been told." Charlotte replied as she gunned the engine & ran down a walker crossing the road without even a flinch.

"So, does anyone have a plan once we get to California?" Daryl said flatly into his radio. "Yeah, we're going to try for Alcatraz." Rick's voice replied.


	29. Chapter 29: Trouble in Cali

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 29: Trouble in Cali**

**Disclaimer: Nope don't own anything**

"Fuck!" Rick said as he pounded his fists on the Tucson's steering wheel. They were so close, he could see San Francisco bay from the high way … & they had hit a huge traffic snarl that left both sides of the highway completely blocked.

"Is there any way around it?" Rick said as Charlotte laid the map over the hood of the Tucson. "Uh … I might be able to help, I am from this area, remember?" Andrea said, Rick remembered her sister mentioning they were on a cross country road trip when this all went down.

"I know a shortcut, but it'll take us through the city & I don't know if that's any better. The only other option is to backtrack & take the exit onto 5, it'll add about a day though." "Then that's what we'll do." Rick replied.

This highway was passable but not without its snarls & they slowed them down, soon they were losing daylight & they would have to stop soon. "What about this place?" Charlotte's voice crackled over the radio.

It was a public storage facility, not much in the way of shelter, but they had the RV & the fence around it was secure. It was times like this Charlotte thanked her tendency to hang on to seemingly pointless things.

For some reason, when they were forced to abandon the prison, she had a compulsion to hoard the chain & lock they had used to secure the main gate… & she was glad she did as she wrapped the chain around the gate to the facility & secured it.

It was secured all the way around with a ten foot high iron bar fence with only one way in or out … their kind of place. But just to be safe, Charlotte volunteered to walk the perimeter.

She walked slowly, remaining vigilant, Shadow at her side. The damn dog had really taken a liking to her for some reason, maybe he could tell that she was a dog person.

After taking down a couple of walkers that most likely had wondered into the compound, & with all the storage units closed & secured, she deemed the place safe. "All Clear, law man. I'm gonna poke around & see what useful things I can find." She said. "ten-four, just watch your back." Rick replied.

With little effort, she pried open the first unit she came to &, flashlight in hand, began poking around for anything that might be of use, Shadow stood guard outside as usual. Daryl also took this opportunity to detach himself from the group also when he spotted her go off on her own.

He was so full of sexual tension that he felt like murdering someone. They hadn't had any alone time since their reunion night & he wanted her so badly… he just couldn't take it anymore.

In the last row of units he spotted one that was opened, he was willing to bed his crossbow that she was in there, but he readied his weapon just in case. From the corner of her eye, Charlotte caught Shadow's body language change, but his wagging tail told her it was someone from their group.

Her heart summer salted when Daryl stepped in. "What are you doing?" He asked expressionlessly, his bright blue eyes shining in the dim light. Charlotte chrugged.

"I was searching these units for useful shit & got sidetracked by all the cool stuff." She said as she turned around & found him to have trans versed the short distance between them. he was so close she could feel his hot breath on her face.

He threw his crossbow down next to them & gripped her by the shoulders as she grabbed his shirt & flat ripped it off him, his eyes darkened & his breathing quickened as she removed her shirt, exposing her bare breasts.

He undid her pants as she undid his, they locked lips as her hands roved up & down his naked body, making him crazy with desire. He lost what little control he had been maintaining, he propped her up onto an antique dining room table & plunged into her.

Charlotte tried to be quiet but it became nearly impossible as waves of ecstasy & release pounded her body. "Oh, god!" she said over & over as they came as one. Daryl exhaled the breath he had been holding as they collapsed into one another.

They remained like that for what seemed like forever before they finally withdrew & redressed. "Here." She said as she tossed him a shirt from her bag. "Sorry about that, guess I got a little carried away." He chuckled as he slipped it on. "Wait til you see your neck."

At first light the next morning they prepared to move out, Charlotte undid the chain & lock from the gate & put it back in the RV storage compartment. "Let's move." Rick's voice crackled over the radio.


	30. Chapter 30

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 30**

**Disclaimer: don't own nothing.**

"What do you think?" Rick said, Charlotte blew out a huge sigh. "I don't think there's any way we can do this without ditching the vehicles … unless we find a ferry, freight ship, barge or something like that. But even then we'll probably have to leave the RV."

"You know we can't send the whole group down there, they'll be on us before we can even get out of our vehicles." "So … what did you have in mind?" Rick said. "Send two of us, send Charlotte & me; I'm good about getting in & out, & if we find a boat Charlotte can get it started."

Maggie hugged Glenn tightly as they prepared to leave. "Don't worry, I'll be ok." He whispered into her ear, Daryl said nothing to Charlotte, but it was clear by his expression that he was not at all happy with her departing once again but … at least he knew she intended on returning this time.

"We'll have to go on foot, the cars will draw too much attention." Glenn said, suddenly, he felt a tight grip on his upper arm, he spun around to meet Daryl's harsh blue gaze.

"You make sure you bring her back safe, china man … ya hear?" He said, his gravelly voice dangerously low. Glenn swallowed audibly as he nodded.

"Hey, walker bait … you coming or what?" Charlotte said, snapping Glenn out of the uncomfortable grip Daryl's hard stare had on him. "Uh … yeah." He said as he trotted to catch up.

"Don't worry, She'll be ok, she's a survivor." Maggie said as she squeezed Daryl's shoulder, Daryl nodded to her before turning his worried look back to the road, & continued watching their figures until he could no longer see them.

"Judging by this, if we head along this road it should take us right to the bay. I can't believe we haven't seen any walkers, its like they've left the city." He said, charlotte shook her head. "Oh they're here somewhere, they are just lying in wait."

They reached the bay with surprisingly little trouble, only having to avoid a small group of walkers, Charlotte attributed this to California's cold nights. The problem came when they reached the dock, Charlotte's hopes crashed, all she could see was recreational & small fishing boats.

"Glenn, I think we're screwed." She said as she rested her machete on her shoulder. "What about that?" he said as he pointed at a huge freight barge. "You know how to drive something that big?" Charlotte shrugged. "No time like the present to learn."

"See anything?" Sophia gave him a sad look as she shook her head, it would be dusk soon & if they didn't make it back soon they would have to spend the night in the overrun city.

After checking the barge for anyone … or anything… Charlotte got to work. Luckily all the components were functional & all it needed was a little tweaking. "You're an amazing mechanic." Glenn said.

Charlotte chuckled. "A machine is a machine, it don't matter if it gets around on land or the water." She said as she attempted to fire it up, she & Glenn high fived one another when they heard the motor turn over. "Let's blow this hot dog stand." She said as she pushed the throttle to full.

* * *

"Dad!" Carl said, he could see something approaching from the water in the distance he handed his father the binoculars, sure enough it was a ship, a large freight liner … & it was approaching fast.

"You are pretty good at this." Glenn said, Charlotte blushed. "When I was in school I used to spend every other summer or so helping my cousin out on his river boat, its parking that's going to be the problem … I have never done that." She confessed.

"Who the hell is that?" Rick said as he strained to see through the incoming fog. "Mr. Grimes, They are in range, I can take a shot at them, just tell me what you want me to do." Sophia said. "No … no hold your fire." Rick said without taking his eyes away from the binoculars.

Suddenly their radio's crackled, breaking the silence & causing them all to spook out of their skins. "Hey! You guys got lead in your draws or what!" Charlotte's voice came over the line. Everyone's face melted into a large grin as they piled into their vehicles & headed down to meet them.


	31. Chapter 31

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 31**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything**

They were only able to fit two of the vehicles on the barge, it hurt them deeply, but they had to leave the RV & the truck, deciding on the Tucson & the other SUV.

Charlotte took the keys & locked & armed them, that way if anyone fucked with them, the alarms would go off & hopefully detour them.

On a whim, Charlotte decided to commandeer a small vessel for quick supply runs, she & Daryl stood wordlessly at the stern as the shadowed aging remains of the infamous prison loomed in the distance. The corpse of a once feared monster.

"Son of a bitch!" Glenn said as a sharp jolt told them the barge had bumped the dock. "Sorry, I'm not actually an expert boater." Rick said as he sheepishly ran his hands through his hair.

Charlotte & Daryl tied off the small fishing vessel to the neighboring dock as the other half of their group exited the barge. "Now I doubt anyone was here when all this went down … but keep your eyes peeled just in case." Rick said as they entered the main entrance of the prison.

"Oh, snap!" Charlotte said as she & Daryl found the gift shop. Daryl blushed & turned his head away as she began to undress. "What are you so bashful about? Its not like you haven't seen anything I have to offer before." She said as she plopped her tattered, smelly, dirty clothes in a heap & traded up to official Alcatraz getup.

"Here, you could use some new threads too." She said as she tossed him a set of clothes, he gave the clothes a withering look … they weren't exactly … him. Charlotte, seeming to read his mind, rolled her eyes.

"There is no society anymore to give a shit about what your clothes look like! For god's sake look at me!" She said as she held out her arms to show off the newly commandeered men's garments that were three sizes too big.

"Of course, being a chick I can do cutesy things like this with my clothes." She said with a wink as she tied a knot in the waist of the T shirt. "Besides, your smell enters the room before you do." She said as she waved her hand in front of her face.

Daryl opened his mouth to retort, but ended up grabbing her & tossing her behind him. The walker had ahold of her shirt, but he plunged his knife into its head before it could get to them. "Son of a bitch!" Charlotte said as she patted her chest.

Judging by the uniform he wore, they assumed the person had worked there & had no way of getting off the island when all this went down. "Poor dude, looks like he plum starved to death." Charlotte said a she nudged him with her foot.

"Get a look at this place! Its awesome!" Carl said as he explored every cellblock ahead of the rest of the group, Rick chuckled. "Yes, its almost too good to be true." He said. "Don't say that." Maggie interjected, Rick merely shrugged in reply because all too often it was true. Every "perfect" place always had some hang-up.

"The only hang-ups I can see this place having is the weather, when we get a storm its going to be a pain in the ass trying to keep the boats from being smashed against the dock." "Then, that's something we're going to have to fix before the first storm."

"The barge has a reinforced hull, it's the fishing boat I am worried about." Charlotte said. "We could drop anchor & tie a secondary rope to one of those pillars, it might be enough to hold the boats against the dock." Daryl said, Rick smiled. "Good idea … get on it."

As the other half of the group unloaded the remainder of the supplies, Daryl, Glenn & Charlotte worked on securing the boats in the event of a storm. "You think that'll do it?" Daryl said, grimacing as he slowly straightened & wiped his brow on the back of his hand.

"Unfortunately, we'll only find out when we get a storm. "The fishing boat isn't a huge loss … I can always get another one, but I would have to take the barge to shore to get it & it would draw way more attention than a simple fishing boat."

"Hey, feel like poking around?" Charlotte said to Daryl after dinner. "Rick said he don't want us poking around after dark." Daryl said sullenly, Charlotte shrugged. "Then I guess I'll have to go by myself." She said as she checked the chambers in her colts to make sure they was full.

As she rounded the corner, a smile crossed her face as she heard Daryl's light steps bounding to catch up with her. "You're one stubborn, crazy bitch, you know that?" "Yeah … but if I wasn't, you wouldn't find me nearly as interesting." She said with a smirk.

"Where are we going anyway? Do you even know?" He asked curtly. "to the lighthouse, & yes I know where I am going, unlike everyone else, I picked up a tourist map in the gift shop." "Why the lighthouse?" "Because, it has the best view of this place for watch." She said as they came to the lighthouse door.

As they climbed, they heard some rustling on the stairs above them, Daryl readied his crossbow as Charlotte drew her machetes. The footsteps seemed to be heading away rather then towards them.

"There's only one way out of this place, we'll corner whoever or whatever it is at the top." Charlotte hissed into Daryl's ear from behind. Just that simple act, even in their situation managed to turn him on.

As they neared the top, they could no longer hear anything, meaning whatever it was had to be at the top, they surely didn't go past them.

They approached the door to the lighthouse room as silently as possible, Daryl nodded, telling her he had her covered as they burst in the door. "What the hell…!" Charlotte said as they both stopped in their tracks & gave each other very confused looks.


	32. Chapter 32: Abducted

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 32**

**Disclaimer: Don't own nuthin :/**

They checked every crevice of the aging lighthouse tower & found … nothing. Not a single shred of evidence that a person, living or dead had been up there.

"I'm telling you, it was a ghost." Charlotte said as they joined the others, Daryl didn't reply but his dramatic eye roll said it all. "Okay … your saying after after seeing dead people getting up & walking around, that you don't believe in the possible existence of the paranormal?" She quipped.

"There ain't no such things as ghosts." He said flatly. "Whatever you say … Mr. _'I saw a chupacabra.'_ " "Hey … ! _That_ was real!" He said indignantly. "Ok, so was that." She replied as they joined the rest of the group. "So was what?" Rick asked. "Nothing." They both said in unison. Rick chuckled to himself as he shook his head.

"We are getting low on supplies, you & Glenn can leave at first light tomorrow, take the keys to the SUV just in case you need them. Are you sure you want to go, Charlotte? You always volunteer, but if you're tired of it I can send someone else."

"But … I thought you said I was your best in & outer … other than Glenn of course." She said, a smile crossed Rick's haggard face. "Oh you are, but its also not fair for me to expect you go every time. There are others that have volunteered to take shifts for you & Glenn."

"I know, but everyone else is a better shot then I am at a distance. If something were to happen to them on a supply run, the group would be down one shooter." She paused as her gaze averted Rick's.

"But … but if something happened to me, it … it wouldn't matter as much." She said, the tail end of her statement barely audible. For a moment, Rick didn't know how to respond. He stood there, staring at the petite woman who would not meet his eyes.

A sudden feeling of empathy washed over him as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Charlotte everyone in this group is important. We've got a grove going here, for lack of a better explanation & if we lost someone … ANYONE it would throw us off our rails.

Besides, I can think of someone off the top of my head who who would be crushed, to say the least of something happened to you." Rick said with a grin as he nodded at Daryl, who stannding on the first landing looking out on the courtyard.

Daryl's heart skipped a beat as Charlotte joined him at the window. He didn't know why she affected him like she did, but he couldn't deny the fact that she had a hold on him, whether he liked it or not.

"You're goin' tomorrow." "Yeah." She replied. "I want to go with you … instead of Glenn." She looked at him, a smile slowly creeping across her face. "You don't trust Glenn?" He didn't meet her gaze. "S' not that."

A wave of understanding washed over here as she studied him, he didn't know how to verbalize it, but to her what he was feeling was coming through loud & clear as if he had shouted it. Sometimes they a got on each other's last nerve, but deep down she knew he loved her very much. Even if he didn't say it.

She placed her hand over his. "Okay, Daryl. If you want to go, I will tell Glenn." She said, the tension visibly left his body as he nodded without meeting her gaze.

"Glenn? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be on a supply run with Charlotte?" Glenn grinned. "Daryl insisted he take my place." Rick's brow furrowed. "That is fine but I wish someone would have informed me about it." Glenn rolled his eyes, once a cop, always a cop. End of the world or not.

"I bet this place is a gold mine." Charlotte whispered as they made landfall & stashed the boat where they were pretty sure no one would find it. "Just keep your eye open." Daryl hissed as they crept along the buildings of what was once San Francisco, Charlotte glared at him. "Very funny." She replied.

There were walkers milling about, some were standing around 'resting'. They were ablke to slip around them easily.

They ducked into a drug store & found it to be almost untouched. Even the … 'good stuff' behind the prescription counter. "Here, bag this, it's a kick ass antibiotic. These too." She said as she started handing off bottles of pills.

"We've got to move on, this place is loaded, we can come back later, we have to make room for other things we need." Daryl said as they peaked out the door they came in & cursed. Thousands of walkers were milling around in the street out front.

"We're gonna have to take the alley exit." Daryl whispered. "That'll put us against a dead end!" Charlotte hissed back. "Would you rather use the front door? Sons of bitches must've smelled your fucking perfume."

"Well …you didn't seem to be complaining about my perfume last night." She quipped, he reddened, but said nothing as he slowly opened the door. Finding the alley clear, they slipped out & over the fence. Daryl dropped down lightly on the other side & helped Charlotte over.

"Ready?" Daryl said, that was the last thing he remembered before everything suddenly went black.

_Ooooo nuther cliff hanger … I am bad I know. I am also sorry for taking so long to update, I have been super busy here at the ranch. Plus a bout of writer's block didn't help any. Thanks for hanging in there, gentle readers._


	33. Chapter 33

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 33: Imprisoned**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!**

Daryl slowly came to & was greeted with impenetrable darkness, it seemed to push in from all sides, pressing on him, as if it was trying to squeeze the life out of him.

He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face & he began to fear he had been rendered blind as he was reminded of the blow he suffered to the head by the sudden onset of a dull, throbbing headache.

His heart suddenly stopped beating as dread filled him. Charlotte! Where was Charlotte! What had happened to her! he couldn't remember, the last thing he remembered was helping her off the fence, then nothing.

He struggled against his restraints until his wrists bled with nothing to show for it & as his eyes finally began to adjust, he found himself in dank, windowless room with slimy concrete walls & the air had a damp, moldy undercurrent to it that made itself known every now & then.

Someone had tied him to a sturdy wooden chair, binding his wrists & legs to the armrests & legs with nylon rope. He knew he wasn't getting out of this without his knife … but someone had stripped him of his weapons.

Weapons or not, he had to think of something fast. Charlotte could be somewhere hurt … or worse … he had to find her, then he was going to make the sons of bitches who did this pay.

* * *

Charlotte wasn't so lucky, she didn't wake up alone. She came to chained to an oblong metal table across from her sat a very large man, she strained to see who it was, but his face was shrouded in the shadow the low, overhead light cast.

"What the fuck is this, a police interrogation or what?" Charlotte quipped rudely as she shook the cobwebs out of her mind, the man across from her chuckled. "Your bitchiness in the face of your situation is admirable." He said, his voice was smooth with a rich south Georgian draw to it. something about it was familiar & it didn't give her a good feeling.

"You don't know who I am, do you? I'm rather surprised you & your group could forget after all we went through together." He said as he leaned forward. Charlotte struggled to remain expressionless, to not let her fear show but she was doubtful she had succeeded.

It was Phillip, how he had found them, she had no idea. But she resolved to use this opportunity to gauge how much he knew. "Now … I know it ain't just ya'll. I know the rest of you are held up somewhere in this god forsaken city. The question is … _where_."

Charlotte said nothing, so Phillip kept talking, so he & what was left of his men didn't know about Alcatraz, she was going to make sure it stayed that way. "You killed one of my best men." Charlotte shrugged, but remained silent. Phillip began to lose what little patience an insane man has.

"If you won't talk, I have ways of making people talk. Maybe a visit to your little boyfriend in the next room might change your mind. "Wait!" Charlotte said as he turned to leave, a smug smile crossed Phillip's face as he turned around.

"I'll tell you what you want to know." Charlotte paused dramatically, her face urgent & serious. Phillip pulled up a chair across from her as they both leaned forward across the table. "It's not very far, just set out & walk until you walk off the edge off the peer into the ocean … cuz I ain't telling you shit." She whispered in false dramatis as she leaned back arrogantly in her chair.

Phillip let out a bellow & back handed Charlotte across the face again & again until one of his men pulled him away. "No man! If we kill her we'll never be able to find out anything! If she won't talk we won't have any leverage to use against that stupid redneck of hers!"

"Phillip shrugged him off but listened to reason as he grabbed a fistful of Charlotte's hair & jerked her head back. "You should've made it easy on yourself, girl. Now when I get done with you, you're going to wish I had just killed you."

* * *

"What do you mean they aren't back yet?" Rick said, Glenn & Maggie wouldn't meet his gaze. "we didn't tell you right away because you know how Daryl is, he regularly is gone for days, but something doesn't feel right this time. By the way he talked when he left it was supposed to be an in & out thing."

Rick ran his hand through his longish hair. "Son of a bitch! They took the only small boat, if we take the barge we might as well just ring a gigantic dinner bell for every walker in the area." "What about the barge's lifeboats. They are big enough to carry four people."

Rick opened his mouth to protest them taking so many defenders away from the rest of the group, with two of them already missing, Glenn quickly explained. "I don't think it's as simple as they got held up by a herd of walkers. If that had happened they would have been back by now."

"That's what I think too. That's why I'm goin'." Michonne said from behind Rick, Rick heaved a huge sigh as he motioned for Carl to join them. "I want you to listen very good, son. Im going with these guys. If … if we don't make it back. You are going to have to lead this group. Do you think you can do that? Without hesitation, he nodded assuredly.

"While I'm gone, it's your calls your decisions. Your job to keep everyone safe." He said as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder. In the year following the farm & everything that had happened since, Carl had become Rick's right hand man in Daryl's absence … & a quite efficient one at that.

Little Sophia wasn't too shabby herself; she had almost bested Andrea in shooting & had become quite a skilled walker killer up close when the need arose. Deep down, Rick knew the group was in safe hands in the event something happened to the four of them. But that didn't quell his hatred for leaving.

* * *

"You son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill you!" Daryl said as he raged against his restraints. Phillip chuckled. "Oh … I don't think you are going to do any such thing, you see, I have something you want." He said as he motioned to one of his men.

Daryl's breath caught in his throat as his heart painfully stopped beating for a few paces, the man brought Charlotte in & sat her down roughly at the table across from him. His anger at these men boiled inside of him as he gazed upon what they had done to her.

Her face was bruised, cut & swollen to the point where she was almost unrecognizable. & her patch was missing. Phillip grabbed a fistful of her hair & tilted her head so it harshly met the light. "Come on, Daryl. Don't feed is any bullshit. Even at the end of the world, no man in his right mind could bring himself to fuck … _this_." He said, his last word ending in disgust as he let her hair go roughly.

"You're … you're saying that because no one will fuck your ugly ass." Charlotte grunted painfully. Out of anger, Phillip struck her in the back of the head, knocking her semi-concious. Unknown to them, Daryl had a small knife hidden in his pants they had missed in their initial search of him, which he had used to saw through the ropes under the table.

He had gotten his hands free a long time ago, working on his ankles was the pisser, because he had to do it without being noticed. But, as one of Phillip's henchmen came around to him, he felt the last of the ropes spring free.

Quick as a cat, he plunged the small knife into the man's leg, aiming for his femoral artery, hoping the knife was long enough to at least nick it. he pushed the injured man back as the others rushed him. Even without his weapons, Daryl was a skilled fighter. He knew where to hit & how to render something unconscious, thanks to years of hunting.

The metallic click of a gun was the only thing that stopped him. Phillip stood behind the table, with Charlotte in front of him as a shield, her dessert eagle pressed into her temple.

"Or maybe I shouldn't kill her outright?" he said, a deranged look in his eye as he pressed the gun into her back. "Maybe I'll shoot her in the liver, or the spleen? You have no gun, no weapons. No way to stop me. You'll have no way to save her, then you know what happens next." He said as he smiled insanely.

From behind him, out of the corner of his eye, Daryl could see movement. "Yeah, I know what happens." He said as he started to walk toward Phillip who backed straight into his former henchmen's waiting, now undead arms.

_Ok, I have you two. Your welcome ;) sorry about another cliffhanger. But I had to end it, it was going to be super-duper long if I didn't._


	34. Chapter 34

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 34**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN**

"Come on, pirate girl. We've gotta go." Daryl said as he hoisted a still semi-conscious Charlotte up & carried her out amidst the feeding of Phillip's former subordinate. Stopping only long enough to gather his & her weapons.

"Come on, Charlotte. You gotta wake up … I can't carry you the whole way outta here. You gotta help me." "I can't … Daryl … Jus … just leave me. Go on without me." "You know I ain't gonna do that." "Then we'll both … die." She whispered as he ducked into a small storage room & bolted the door tight.

"We'll wait it out here, they're all too preoccupied anyway." He said as he gently laid her against the wall in the corner of the small room & crouched protectively in front of her, his hunting knife drawn in one hand, her gun in the other in case things really took a turn for the worst.

As she lay there, it was then Charlotte realized just how much this man & the others in the group cared; no one since her own family had cared this much about her. After they had been killed she had been on her own for so long, relying on herself that she had forgotten what it felt like to have any kind of family.

After meeting so many of the worst former society had to offer, she had all but lost faith in the human race. She had come to the conclusion that the only humans left in this new kill or be killed world _were_ the animals, the ones who lacked morale seemed to be the only ones left who had what it took to survive.

"Charlotte, don't you give up on me, you hear?" Daryl said over his shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts. Outside, the screams & shouts died down, he could feel the immediate danger was passing. Once he felt it was safe enough, he returned to Charlotte's side to find her barely conscious. But at least she was still alive.

"My patch … he took it …" She whispered as her hand flew to her ruined right eye. Daryl took hold of her hand & gently placed it back in her lap. "I think you have more to worry about then a missing patch." He replied.

Glenn, Maggie, Michonne & Rick pulled their small boat ashore & used an old army tarp they had found in the prison along with vegetation that was at hand. "Easy on the camouflage, Rick remember _we_ have to be able to find it too you know." Glenn said humorously in attempt to lighten the mood.

It seemed to work somewhat, the ghost of a smile momentarily crossed Rick's face as they cautiously made their way into the ruined, deserted streets. "Where do we look first, they could be anywhere!" Maggie hissed as they ducked down behind a building to avoid a small herd of walkers that was shambling through the streets.

"We'd better find them quick because it's only a matter of time before they catch our scent." Glenn said as they made sure the coast was clear before ducking around the next building. Rick thought hard … if he were Daryl, where would he go first?

He scoured the decaying city, deep in thought until the pharmacy caught his eye. Knowing better by now to second guess his cop-born instinct, he motioned for Glenn, Maggie & Michonne to follow as they darted across the street.

"Why here?" Michonne asked. "Just a feeling." Rick said as they wrenched the doors open. "Oh yeah … they've been here!" Glenn said as he got a look at the cleaned out perscription meds behind the counter. "So … why are the boards pried off the fire exit? Why didn't they just go out the way they came?" Michonne said.

"They must've gotten overrun." Rick said as they exited the way he thought Daryl & Charlotte had gone. They hopped over the alley fence & landed lightly on the other side. "Hey." Michonne said as she pointed with her katana at the ground.

"Looks like blood." Rick said as he ran his hand over the dark stain. "It's dried, but still pretty fresh, not more than a day or two old. "Uh…. Rick..." Glenn said, his voice had a worried tone to it.

"Ah shit!" Rick said as a herd was funneling down the alley towards them, they're luck at not being smelled must've run out. "Man … they're getting good now!" "Back to the pharmacy now!" Rick yelled as they scrambled over the fence & were greeted by another herd on the other side.

"Oh shit … we're surrounded!" Maggie said. "Come on!" Michonne bellowed over the commotion as she tight-wire walked across the top of the fence until she got to a ladder that led to the roof of the pharmacy. She & Rick ushered the others ahead of them before following behind.

"Oh … Christ." Rick said as they realized sheer magnitude of their plight, from the roof they saw thousands of walkers swarm around the building. "I sure hope they haven't learned how to climb." Maggie said as she looked over the edge. Michonne pulled her back & backed everyone up.

"No use baiting them further into tryin'. The sooner they can't see us no more, the sooner they might go away." She said.

Daryl snuck a peek out into the hallway, most of the kidnapper-walkers were gone, but a few stragglers remained. If they were both healthy, they could sneak out before they even noticed. But he would be carrying Charlotte, which put him at a serious disadvantage. He didn't know if he could protect them both.

He went back to Charlotte & gently brushed a lock of hair out of her face. She was growing paler & it had been at least a day they had been without water, the longer he waited, the weaker she became. he couldn't wait much longer.

Daryl inwardly cursed. Walkers or not, tomorrow morning he was going to make a break for it, he had to. He couldn't wait any longer, he wasn't going to lose her, he was getting her out of there, even if it meant giving up his own life in the process.

_Nuther cliffhanger. I'm terrible I know xD, but thats what makes for good reading ;). I will try to get the successing chapters up faster._


	35. Chapter 35

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 35**

**Disclaimer: I NO OWN**

Daryl he knew he couldn't wait any longer, the journey wasn't going to get any safer … or easier. Using some rope he had found in the closet, he rigged up a kind of harness he hoped would make it easier to carry Charlotte & easier to defend himself.

He cracked the door open slowly, making sure he had a clear shot before slinking down the dank hallway careful to keep close to the wall. But the problem was that he was unconscious when he was brought down, so he had to wing it when it came to finding the way out.

Daryl wiped the sweat away as it poured down his face, it wasn't hot down in the tomb-like building, this was the sweat of exhaustion born from days without food.

For the first time since the accident with the horse back at the farm, Daryl was worried, he caught himself praying he didn't run into any walkers or worse … any living humans. His strength was failing him, he could feel it … they both would be in serious trouble if they didn't get out of there soon.

Then, as if from a dream, a rush of light from behind the next door he tried. It was the way out of this fucking place. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the blast of daylight.

The weather outside was just another beautiful day in sunny California, not a cloud in the sapphire sky … it seemed to mock him in his plight. His legs felt like jelly, he couldn't go on much longer, he had to find some kind of vehicle.

* * *

The walkers finally had given up on Rick & his group for the most part, & Glenn came up with a plan to get the stragglers off their backs. "Are you sure this is going to work?" Maggie asked him, he grinned sheepishly & shrugged at her as he stepped to the edge of the roof.

"No." He replied as he loaded a large rock into the sling & launched it as far as he could. "Nice one." Michonne said as she followed the projectile with her hand shading her eyes. A loud crash was heard as the rock broke a window somewhere down the street. "Let me have another one." Glenn said.

After a few more shots, they watched as the rest of the walkers shambled down the street after the source of the sound. "Let's go before they get wise." Rick said as they shimmied down the latter.

* * *

Daryl began to panic, a feeling foreign to him. God damn it! He was a Dixon for god's sake! The one who always had it together, the one who always had a plan for when things went to shit. But as of now … he had nothing & his body was threatening to quit on him. Each with every step he took, it felt like his legs weighed a thousand pound each.

As he passed the pharmacy again, he collided with Rick & his group as they rounded the corner on to the street. "Rick … !" Daryl trailed off as his face broke into a relieved smile. "Oh … shit!" Glenn said as Rick unhooked Charlotte's limp body & hoisted it across his own shoulders.

"Is she…?" Maggie trailed off. "She's still alive, but she's in bad shape. We have to get to the boat." "We'll have to make a run for it, you up for this, Daryl? You don't look so good." Glenn said as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, let's just go." He said irritably. He wasn't _fine_, his legs still felt like rubber & there was a pain in his side he hadn't noticed before, but he definitely felt like he had a better chance of making it without the extra buck ten to carry around.

The way they had been going it he knew neither of them wouldn't have made it out of the city alive. Now at least _she_ might. His side was on fire now, he put his hand against it & came back with blood … _shit_ … he had been stabbed by one of Phillip's men & didn't even realize it.

After giving a small herd the slip, they found both boats, there was a problem though, the rough tide had put a pretty good size hole in the hull of the small fishing boat, which left only the small lifeboat.

Rick cursed, they all weren't going to fit, not without sinking. With Charlotte they were pushing it. "I'll stay." Daryl said selflessly, Rick looked up at the sky, a storm was blowing in from the Pacific & the ocean was getting rough.

"Daryl if we leave we won't be able to come back for at least a day… maybe more." Rick said bluntly, he knew he could always be straight with Daryl about things like this, Daryl nodded. "Just keep her safe, eh?"

Charlotte stirred & tried to sit up, Maggie gently restrained her, for all of their sakes in the small boat on a choppy frigid ocean. Glenn & Rick struggled to row against the current, which fought to pull them out to sea.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally ran ashore. Glenn & Maggie pulled the boat the rest of the way ashore as Rick carried Charlotte to Hershel.

* * *

From the dock, Daryl watched them until he couldn't see them anymore. The weather was turning bad quick, & he had to find shelter & treat his wounds. He figured the pharmacy was his best bet, at least if he got held up in there he would at least have supplies of some sort.

He crept in & bolted the door behind him, after a quick look around, he collapsed against the counter. Through blurred vision, he could barely make out the forms of walkers milling by the storefront, passed the windows that weren't boarded.

Daryl summoned what remained of his strength & crawled to the back of the store, out of their sight. As he rested his head against the side of the shelf, his vision finally went black.


	36. Chapter 36

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 36**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this :/**

"How is she?" Rick said as he leaned against the doorframe, a sad smile crossed Hershel's aged face as he reached out & scratched Shadow the dog behind the ears.

"He's really something, this dog, he hasn't left her side since she came back. We even have to bring his food & water to him ..."

Rick wasn't listening to him though; his gaze was focused outside where the storm still raged, pounding the prison's aged walls with its onslaught of wind & rain. It had been that way for a day now & he showed no signs of weakening.

Rick suddenly became aware that Hershel was still talking, he blinked hard, gave his head a shake & forced himself to listen. Hershel went silent for a moment, seeming to know that Rick hadn't heard a word he'd just said.

"She's slowly getting stronger, at least here I can get fluids into her intravenously. If it wasn't for that, I don't think she would have made it. She wouldn't have made it another day without treatment." He said as Maggie came in to change out the intravenous drip.

"Dad!" Maggie said excitedly. Shadow had grown excited too, he had jumped off the bed & was whining anxiously as he repeatedly paced the length of the bed, his tail wagging so hard it was all but a blur.

Charlotte stirred & slowly opened her eye, her hand flew reflexively to her ruined eye only to find her patch securely in place, Maggie smiled at her as she placed her hand over Charlotte's. "Don't worry honey, I only took it off at night when no one was around." I know how you feel about it." she said.

Charlotte, still too weak to speak, offered a thankful smile, she swallowed noisily, her throat clicking painfully. Maggie seemed to read her mind & offered her a glass of water with a straw, which she gulped down hungrily.

"Not too much now, you've been without anything in your stomach for about four days, you don't want to be throwing up on top of everything else." She said as she took the water away before Charlotte could drain the entire glass.

Charlotte managed a weak smile as Shadow pushed his head under her hand. "It's ok, boy. I'm ok." She said as she scratched him behind the ears.

"That dog slept right there from the moment we put you in here, wouldn't even leave to eat or drink, we had to bring it to him." Hershel said.

"He wouldn't leave …" Charlotte said to herself as a look of dread suddenly washed over her. "Daryl!" where's Daryl…! He's still over there isn't he? I have to go! Have to find him …!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Rick said, retraining her as she struggled to get out of bed, Charlotte shoved him off with as much strength as she could muster. "Why did you leave him?" She asked.

Rick opened his mouth to explain, but as he looked into Charlotte's face & its searching, yearning expression, his explanation blew out as a haggard sigh instead as Michonne came to stand in the doorway of the cell.

"We didn't have a choice. The storm was comin' in, the boat wasn't big enough to carry all of us & your man insisted we take you. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Everyone should be lucky enough to have someone like that lookin' out for them." She said, a small smile crossing her face.

"I'm sure he's ok, this is Daryl we're talking about here. He knows how to survive, especially since he has someone to return to." Maggie said, Charlotte blushed in spite of herself.

* * *

Through his fever-induced stupor, Daryl vaguely realized that he was no longer alone in the pharmacy, someone was with him … & they were doing something to him, but he didn't know what.

His survival instinct took over & he began to struggle like an injured wild animal, his fists flailing blindly. He heard a grunt as one of his fists connected with the side of the other person's head.

Whoever it was grabbed his wrists & forced them down at his sides. "I'm sorry, man. But this is for your own good." The stranger said as he bound Daryl's wrists behind his back.

"You sumbitch … I'll kill ya …I don' care who the fuck ya are …!" The stranger chuckled, his face hidden by a tattered & worn cowboy hat & a month old beard.

"Tell you what, you make it through this & I'll think about lettin' you kill me. Because at the rate you were going, you weren't going to make it. Now lay back, its best you get comfortable, because this is gonna hurt." He said as he pushed Daryl onto his back, his head sank into a soft blanket as he hit the floor.

The man pulled Daryl's shirt up, exposing the knife wound. "Oh … shit." He hissed. The skin around the wound was wrinkled, red & oozing & the smell coming off it almost made him wretch… it was worse than he thought.

The man took out his knife & soaked the blade with a bottle of rubbing alcohol he had found in the pharmacy & readied a bottle of peroxide & iodine.

Normally he refrained from using manufactured healing agents because he much preferred the natural approach, but this wound was beyond the capabilities of even his strongest herbal medicines.

"Here, bite on this, cause this is going to hurt like fuck." He said emotionlessly as he wedged a piece of wood between Daryl's teeth. Daryl growled as his teeth gritted against the wood as he began to work.

"breathe deep, if you hyperventilate you're going to pass out." The man said expressionlessly as he cut away the infected tissue. "Man I hope the smell doesn't bring walkers, because if I get bit saving your fucking ass I WILL be pissed." He said without looking up.

He worked quickly, thankful in some part to the fact the Daryl had, despite as tough as he was, had passed out from the pain half way through. Once the last of the infected flesh was cut away, he disinfected the wound & bandaged it.

He was glad when the smell of blood & infected flesh begun to dissipate from the stagnant air of the boarded up pharmacy. Just in time too because a small group of walkers was passing by the windows.

They seemed to come in droves, aimlessly drifting around with no set destination, like jellyfish in the ocean. As long as they could stay unnoticed they should be ok. The question was … how long would their luck hold?

Because with Daryl in such a bad way & the state of the weather outside, with neither looking like they were going to get better anytime soon, it looked like they were going to be stuck there for a while.


	37. Chapter 37

**The Walking Dead: Guardian Angel**

**Chapter 37**

**Disclaimer: I don't own this :/**

In the coming day, the worst of the big storm had passed, the rain was a little more stubborn & it was well into their fourth night at the pharmacy before the sound of raindrops on the roof finally was silenced.

"Here, you need to eat." The man said as he shoved a can of pork & beans at Daryl with a plastic spoon stuck in them.

Daryl studied his savior, the man he owed his life to as he ate, since the fever broke, his wits had since returned to him. "Why did you help me?" The other man shrugged. "I have my reasons."

"It would've been better for you'd just let me be walker chow. Then waited til the storm passed & sailed in on the tide like a knight in shining armor with some fucking crackpot story about how you _tried_ to save me but couldn't ... _Eddie_." Daryl said, spitting out Eddie's name like it was poison.

Eddie chuckled as his golden hazel eyes met Daryl's brilliant blue ones. "Oh, trust me, the thought did cross my mind a few times, more times then I'd like to admit.

But I also know that she doesn't want me … she wants _you_ & regardless of my feelings about her decision, I have to respect her choice … however questionable it might be." He said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his last statement.

"So … at first light tomorrow, we are heading to the dock to find a boat." "I don't need your fucking help." Daryl said. "You won't make it half way there by yourself, the smell of the blood from your wound will bring them for miles. I have a car waiting out back, I can get us there quick."

"If you think I'm gonna just let you parade me in there to her so you can play the fucking hero card you can fuck yourself." Daryl spat.

"I'm not. As soon as your happy ass is on that boat, I'm gone. The two of us being in the same group wouldn't work anyway. Besides, it would be hardest on Charlotte & I know this is hard for you to understand … but if I can't have her … at least I want her to be happy."

Daryl sat back against the shelves as he thought for a moment, he had no other choice, there was no way he was in any sort of shape to make it there on his own. Weather he liked it or not, he needed Eddie's help.

* * *

"Hey, sleeping beauty! Come on, we're burning daylight." Eddie said as he smacked Daryl in the back of the head, rudely awakening him. Daryl gave him a murderous look but chose not to say anything as they gathered their supplies & prepared to leave.

Eddie cracked opened the door to the alley & made sure the coast was clear before they made a run to the car. "Let's blow this popsicle stand." Eddie said as he turned the engine over & sped off toward the docks.

The night had been rather cool for the time of year so the walkers were slow to get going, lucky for them. "Once we reach the docks we're gonna have to move fast." "Ya think?" Daryl replied snarkily. "I just don't want your crippled ass slowing me down." Eddie replied.

A growl escaped Daryl's throat but he managed to keep quiet, comforted only by the fact that soon he & this asshole would be parting ways.

Though all things considered he had come a long way in his ability to deal with people, two years ago he would have slit this jerk's throat like a deer carcass for saying something like that.

They arrived at the docks & hopped out quickly, careful to close the door as quietly as possible, adjusting their packs on their shoulders; they scoured the docks for what looked like a workable, suitable boat.

After what seemed like forever, they found one. "You sure you can drive this thing?" Daryl didn't reply, but his withering look spoke volumes. Eddie chuckled as he put his hands up in defense.

"Look, man. I know we will never like each other as people but I do want you to know, for what it's worth, I _do_ respect you as a _man_… even if I didn't show it.

Charlotte wouldn't have bothered with you if you were no good, that much I know & I trust her judgment, regardless of how much I hate it." He said as he held out his hand.

"I wish you two the best, I really do. Maybe our paths will cross again some day, of good fortune keeps us alive til then." Daryl merely nodded as he gripped the Indian man's hand & remained silent, but his silence spoke volumes.

Their bro-mance moment was interrupted by the telltale groans & shuffling gaits of walkers, a large herd was heading their way, no doubt they had followed their car.

"Now get the fuck outta here." Eddie said with a wink as he jumped into his car & sped off, mowing a path through the herd in the process.

Daryl shook his head & smiled in spite of himself as he fired up the boat & set sail for the prison island.


End file.
